£3m injection set to ease hospital bed blocking crisis

The cash, from the county council's social services department, aims to bring an end to bed blocking, where hospitals are unable to discharge elderly patients because of a lack of funding for private nursing home places.

Social services will use the grant to immediately buy 20 places in nursing homes across the county. This will be bolstered with the purchase of five more a month up until April and four a month after that.

Part of the cash is earmarked to pay for price rises in the cash-strapped private care sector, for all residential and nursing home places bought as of next week. There will also be a 5pc increase in the cost of all care bought before December.

The funding includes a £700,000 grant from central government made in October to specifically target bed blocking, extra cash from the authority's coffers and further funds brought forward from next year's council budget.

The move follows crisis talks between social services, the health service and the independent care group that represents the home operators.

Mr Seamus Breen, head of community care in the county's social services department, said: "We have been working closely to avert a crisis and to try to ensure the care sector runs at capacity and the best affordable price.

"Over the past few years, the county council has recognised the problems facing the independent care sector but has not been able to do much about it because of tight spending restrictions.

"Now, money has been made available by the government which goes part of the way to resolving the problem. However, both the county council and the ICG acknowledge that there isn't enough money in the system to meet everyone's expectations or buy even more places."

He highlighted a paucity of provision of mental health care for the elderly as an example. "One of the issues in Richmondshire and Hambleton in particular is the shortfall in specialist provision for the elderly and mentally ill, such as people who have dementia," he said. "We remain interested in providers who would like to explore that area of business."

Mr Mike Padgham, chairman of the ICG, welcomed the move but said it was not enough. "We welcome the additional money which the government has given social services," he said.

"However, we also recognise that these extra resources will not go far enough to solve the problems in the care industry and prevent more business failure and bed blocking.

"This is only one stop on a long journey in making sure the independent sector can survive and meet the challenges which face everyone in health and social care in the years to come. The NHS and social services will only function in the way they need to with a strong independent sector."

Hospital bosses agreed that the funding was a good start but that more needed to be done.

Mrs Pat Martin, head of nursing and deputy chief executive at the Friarage hospital, said: "It is very good news. We have been working well together with social services to try to solve the problem."

l Old people's homes must follow the workhouse into oblivion, a major conference was told this week.

Mr Neil Revely, head of North Yorkshire County Council's care unit, was addressing an assisted living conference in Harrogate on Wednesday.

"We must explore the issues of rights, quality and choice," he told more than 70 private and local government delegates. "Our approach to policy must not be based on existing buildings but on care. Assisted living is most people's preference."

The delegates all agreed fresh thinking and long-term planning would be vital for the well-being of older people in the future.