Hospital patients remain 'due to delays elsewhere'

Andy Weir said a reduction in nursing home capacity and a struggle to create specialist dementia care were contributing towards the problem

Thirty-one patients are fit to leave the General Hospital in Jersey but remain due to delays elsewhere, says the director of mental health.

Andy Weir told an independent panel of health experts that 16 people were waiting for available nursing home beds, six for specialist dementia care and three for care in the community packages.

He added that three patients were waiting to go to residential care homes, two were waiting for home adaptation and one person was refusing to leave.

The issue was highlighted in March, noting that some dementia patients were waiting up to a year in the General Hospital when they should have been discharged.

Mr Weir said that a reduction in nursing home capacity and a struggle to create specialist dementia care were contributing to the problem.