Long hospital wait for Jersey dementia patients 'not right'

Patients are waiting too long in Jersey General Hospital for access to a dementia bed, say health bosses

Some dementia patients are waiting up to a year in the General Hospital, when they should have been discharged, according to mental health bosses.

They said the issue had been caused by a lack of beds elsewhere.

The Health and Community Services Advisory Board heard half the beds in the dementia unit were full of people who should no longer be in hospital.

The director of Mental Health and Adult Social Care, Andy Weir, suggested the States step in to provide care.

He said: "Staying in hospital has an adverse effect on patients. People often deteriorate, and people wait longer in the emergency room for a bed."

Mr Weir said it was not just dementia patients blocking beds.

He added the number of general patients healthy enough to be discharged were 40 a day last year but this has reduced to the current level of 20 a day.

He added 12 patients needed nursing home beds and four needed specialist dementia beds.

'Significant issue'

Mr Weir said: "People could wait up to a year for access to a dementia bed.

"In the dementia unit, it is not unusual for half the beds to be full of people who do not need to be in hospital.

"This is a significant issue for us. We should be thinking about how we can provide same States specialist dementia care.

"It is not right a person could be in a hospital bed waiting months or years."

The panel heard housing was also an issue preventing people from leaving the hospital.

Mr Weir said his department was now meeting weekly with housing representatives and that a dementia strategy was due to be launched shortly.