Physios could support hospitals

Research from Age UK has shown that many elderly patients are having to stay in hospital because there is not the social care support for them to return home.

This means the role of physiotherapists could be better used when it comes to supporting hospitals and helping the elderly maintain their independence and recover from their illness or injury.

The figures show an "escalating social care crisis in England", with 2.43 million bed days lost to the NHS between June 2010 and March 2015 as people are waiting for the care they need. This can cause a lot of emotional stress for patients and their families, but can also impede on their long-term recovery.

In addition to this, it is also costly. According to Age UK, the NHS spends ￡669 million looking after people who are waiting for social care, with most of these being those over 65. This is substantially more than the cost of caring and supporting these people.

On average, a bed in an NHS hospital costs ￡1,925 a week, compared to just  ￡558 for a week in residential care or ￡356.58 for three hours of home care every day. 

It appears that this is a growing problem as well. The figures show that the number of patients waiting in hospital for social care has increased by 19 per cent between 2013/14 and 2014/15. 

During this period, there was also a spike in the number of patients waiting for health and care packages at home (44 per cent) and waiting for a place in a nursing home (32.8 per cent). With an ageing population, the figures suggest that the problems in social care need to be addressed quickly.

Physiotherapists can be a useful resource in this scenario, helping elderly people to keep their independence and maintain their long-term health.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said without a proper social care system, hospital stays are often much longer than they need to be and older people are more likely to be readmitted because their recovery stalls.

Written by Mathew Horton