Key result
A 10% increase in care home beds (250 additional beds per Local Authority) was associated with a 6-9% reduction in social care delayed hospital discharges.
Why the study?
Does greater supply of nursing home beds reduce delayed hospital discharges?
Observational
Yes
Does greater supply of nursing home beds reduce delayed hospital discharges?
Effect estimate: 6-9% reduction
Increasing the supply of nursing home beds modestly reduces delayed hospital discharges, with evidence of spillover effects across neighboring areas.
Hospital bed-blocking occurs when hospital patients are ready to be discharged to a nursing home, but no place is available, so that hospital care acts as a more costly substitute for long-term care. We investigate the extent to which greater supply of nursing home beds or lower prices can reduce hospital bed-blocking using a new Local Authority (LA) level administrative data from England on hospital delayed discharges in 2009-2013. The results suggest that delayed discharges respond to the availability of care home beds, but the effect is modest: an increase in care home beds by 10% (250 additional beds per LA) would reduce social care delayed discharges by about 6-9%. We also find strong evidence of spillover effects across LAs: more care home beds or fewer patients aged over 65 years in nearby LAs are associated with fewer delayed discharges.
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Gaughan et al. (2015) conducted an observational in Hospital delayed discharges. Supply of nursing home beds was evaluated on Social care delayed discharges (6-9% reduction). A 10% increase in care home beds (250 additional beds per Local Authority) was associated with a 6-9% reduction in social care delayed hospital discharges.
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