B

Baroness Pitkeathley (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 9 February 2026

Debate

Hospitals: Delayed Discharges

Contribution

I thank my noble friend for that response. Every time we hear about the problem of delayed discharges—and some of us have been working on this for decades—the causes are the same: lack of co-operation and co-ordination between the agencies involved, not just the NHS and social care but the families of patients and the community services provided by the private and voluntary sectors. There are places where discharge procedures work well because all those agencies plan together, not worrying about who is footing the bill or who has the greater responsibility. Does my noble friend agree that, except in cases of emergency admissions, discharge planning should start when the patient is admitted and not wait until they are ready for discharge?

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