bed-blocking
noun [mass noun] British
The long-term occupation of hospital beds, chiefly by elderly people, due to a shortage of suitable care elsewhere.Funding will be increased in a few areas such as an extra £500,000 for bus subsidies and money for 500 new nursing care beds for the elderly to tackle the chronic problem of bed-blocking in hospitals....
- The closure of many homes has already led to a shortage of care places in some areas - adding to problems of bed-blocking on hospital wards.
- Fines to reduce bed-blocking in hospitals could mean elderly and chronically sick people are forced into care homes many miles from their families, researchers have warned.
Derivatives
bed-blocker
- The NHS retaliates by fining councils that leave "bed blockers" in hospital.
- Bed blockers fill acute wards again for lack of services to take them back into the community.
- This allows us not to have bed blockers.