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NHS hospitals moving patients into hotel to free up beds

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Emergency departments have been under pressure this winter

NHS hospitals are discharging patients into a hotel in a bid to ease demand for beds.

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire trusts are using the hotel for patients who no longer need urgent treatment but need social care.

The Integrated Care Board (ICB) for the three trusts has booked the "hotel care facility" for up to 30 patients.

A spokesperson for the ICB said care services were "under significant pressure".

"This temporary care facility delivered at a local hotel will help us to improve the flow of patients through our hospitals by ensuring more people can be discharged as soon as they are medically fit to leave hospital," they said.

The NHS is facing the worst winter for A&E waits on record, as hospitals struggle to get patients out of wards and into appropriate care settings in the community.

Ambulances at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Pressure on health services is leading to delays when patients are handed over from ambulances into A&E

The hotel care facility was introduced in late November 2022 and will run until the end of March. It is being provided by CQC-registered homecare company Abicare.

The service is being delivered by live-in care workers on a 24/7 basis with visiting clinical teams providing rehabilitation and primary care support, the ICB said.

Nadra Ahmed OBE, chair of the National Care Association (NCA), told BBC Radio 4 Today she is concerned about the quality of care in a hotel setting.

"This is a short-term solution- what we really need is a robust, sustainable and well-invested social care sector," she said.

National Care Association Nadra Ahmed OBENational Care Association
Nadra Ahmed is concerned about the quality of care in hotels

This is not the first time NHS trusts have organised temporary care facilities at hotels.

A spokesperson for the ICB said: "The service will provide comprehensive care, in a welcoming environment, for people who don't need to be in hospital, but require further support before they return home.

"Nobody should have to stay in hospital longer than necessary and this facility will ensure more people can be discharged promptly.

"It will also improve the flow of patients through our hospitals while helping to address ambulance handover delays."

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