MORE than £500,000 will be spent across Lancashire tackling hospital bed blockages caused by a lack of social care.

Lancashire County Council has announced the funding from central government as part of a £25m cash boost nationwide.

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Government ministers approved the emergency injection for social care for older people in areas where hospitals are facing the biggest problems of delayed patient discharges.

It comes weeks after the Lancashire Telegraph revealed the extent of the delays facing patients and ambulance staff arriving at A&E at Royal Blackburn Hospital, with many waiting up to two hours just to get into the hospital.

At one point, there were around 18 ambulances sat outside waiting for staff and beds to be available.

At the time, Gillian Simpson, director of operations at the hospital, said large numbers of patients “no longer required medical care”, but needed home or social care services to enable them to be discharged.

She added: “We are working closely with our partners in the clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and social care; however there are difficulties in some areas with the provision of appropriate care packages.”

According to NHS England, one in five hospital beds was occupied over the Christmas period by someone ready for discharge but unable to move on because of blockages in the system. About a third of these blockages were attributed to lack of social care services.

County Councillor Tony Martin, cabinet member for adult and community services at Lancashire County Council, said: “We have received a grant of £520,000 to help reduce the number of delays in people being discharged from acute hospital wards, which are attributable to social care.”

“We are already working very closely with the hospitals to manage the high levels of demand being made of all health and social care services.

“The grant will be used across the county to fund additional social care community services until the end of March to enable people either to return home, or to an alternative residential setting where appropriate.”

The funding has been authorised by a special ministerial committee that is meeting weekly to try to alleviate the winter pressures.

The emergency £25m is being provided through the Department of Health to councils where the local hospital has been identified as having the most delayed discharges per head of population.