Commenting on research published in the BMJ on rising mortality rates since 2015 and rates of delayed discharge from hospital, Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Independent Age, the older people’s charity, said:
"These deeply worrying findings raise important new questions about the link between a surge in delayed discharges and the tragic human cost of those delays. We know the main reason for delayed discharge from hospital attributed to social care is patients waiting for a care package in their own home.
"The Government committed to a Green Paper on social care in the Budget in March, which we are yet to see delivered, and reports like this shine a light on how acute the pressures in the social care system appear to have become. Older people and their families deserve better than this and we need to see a long-term solution to the crisis in adult social care without further delay.”