Consequences of local variations in social care on the performance of the acute health care sector

Abstract

This article uses 2 years worth of data from 150 English local authorities to quantify the extent to which local variations in social care resources are associated with variations in performance of the acute sector, and particularly on the rates of hospital delayed discharges and hospital emergency re-admissions. Results indicate that social care services play a significant role in explaining local variations in acute sector performance.

Notes

¹ This function is an approximation for what could be a very complicated dynamic process that would depend on how beds were allocated, rates of crowd out of treatment episodes by people delayed in beds, demand for hospital services and so on.

² Re-admissions have a defining period. People who return to hospital after this period (e.g. 7 days, 28 days) are counted as new admissions and so current period re-admissions do not depend on people discharged previously outside this period. Strictly, the numbers in Equation 13 and similar equations will be the sum over each day up to the relevant period. However, this summation notation is suppressed in what follows for clarity.

³ See: http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAndSocialCareTopics/OlderPeoplesServices/OlderPeopleArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4099198&chk=5OV7NB