Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Deferred
Publish annual official estimates of delayed discharge costs to the NHS, broken down by reason
Recommendation
We recommend that the Department provides an official estimate of how much delayed discharges are costing the NHS, broken down by the reason for the delay and including costs associated with the beds themselves, staff time and wider activity that cannot happen as a result of a delayed discharge. This should be published and updated annually. (Recommendation, Paragraph 101)
Government Response Summary
The government agrees that publishing cost estimates would improve transparency but notes methodological challenges. It commits to exploring how best to publish cost data rather than directly providing an official, annually updated estimate broken down by delay reason, effectively deferring the specific action.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
We agree that publishing cost estimates broken down by delay reason would in principle improve transparency about the impact of delayed discharges. There are some methodological challenges involved in estimating costs attributable to delayed discharge, with any estimate necessarily relying on a number of assumptions rather than providing a precise attributable amount. We will explore how best to publish cost data with these caveats.