Invest in social care nursing to speed up hospital discharges, says lead nurse

Hospital discharge delays cannot be improved without a ‘properly resourced’ social care nursing service, the head of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Wales has said.

Earlier this week the Welsh Government announced the release of a £30m fund to strengthen community-based social care and support services and speed-up hospital discharges.

Helen Whyley, RCN Wales executive director, told Nursing in Practice the investment was a ‘positive step’ in improving the transition of care from hospital into the community.

But she warned that social care nursing must be ‘properly resourced’ for this investment to make a difference.

Ms Whyley described the ‘essential’ role social care nurses provide in the community, by ensuring safe discharges, preventing health deterioration and supporting people to manage their long-term conditions.

‘Local authorities must prioritise investment in social care nursing services to ensure that people are able to receive care in the most appropriate place and leave hospital when they are ready to do so, thus freeing up hospital beds and easing pressure off A&E services.

‘Without a robust nursing workforce in social care, the ambition to reduce hospital stays and improve patient outcomes will fall short,’ Ms Whyley warned.

The £30m is being provided to local authorities across Wales, with each authority free to choose how they spend the money based on their regional needs.

‘Decisions on specific funding commitments, including local investment in social care nursing services, are made by local authorities,’ a Welsh Government spokesperson told Nursing in Practice.

Darren Hughes, director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, said ‘parity’ was needed between the NHS and social care.

‘This means ensuring the workforce feel properly valued, paid and respected for their important work,’ he said.

‘Unless we move to a longer-term vision for health and social care, we will still be fighting the same battles in years to come.’

Earlier this month, data from Skills for Care found that the number of social care nurses in England had risen by about 2,000 in the last year, but long-term retention remains a major concern.

At the RCN’s annual congress in May, nurses from social and secondary care settings described how major investment in social care was needed to ease the corridor crisis and bring more nurses into the sector to prevent system-wide failure.