Despite many challenges,my fresh commission aims to change the way care is deliveredIt is now a year since I finished a seven-year stint as an acute trust chief executive. The terminate of my time was dominated by the challenge of maintaining high quality care for our patients in the face of continually overcrowded hospitals. This overcrowding was largely because of gross shortfalls in the provision of alternative forms of care, whether domestic-based or residential, and which meant patients were unnecessarily admitted to hospital or subject to delays in leaving once their acute illness was over.
This inadequate provision of support in community settings is not in the best interests of patients. Acute hospitals are set up to treat the acute phase of illness,and older people in specific are at risk of losing independence and suffering complications such as chest infections if they stay in hospital for longer than necessary.
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Source: theguardian.com