East Sussex MP 'out of touch' following comments on NHS waiting lists

An East Sussex MP has been labelled as ‘out of touch’ by her political rivals after claiming that NHS discharge policies were now working.

Maria Caulfield, health minister and MP for the Lewes constituency, told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme that the policy of getting patients back home as quickly as possible was effective in creating extra beds in hospital wards.

The Conservative MP said: “We’re creating 2,000 extra beds almost on a daily basis [because] we’re getting people discharged in a more timely fashion.”

However, these comments do not match up with experts claims that elderly patients are swiftly readmitted because of the poor aftercare they receive.

James McCleary, Liberal Democrat candidate for Lewes, said: "For the second week running Maria Caulfield has shown how out of touch she is with the concerns and fears of people having to use the health service. I have heard horror stories on doorsteps and in my mailbox from local people who have been through terrible experiences getting discharged from hospital.

"We are seeing a widespread collapse in critical elements in our health service due to a decade of Conservative cuts combined with the repeated failure of ministers to get to grips with the problems.

"Services that are needed after discharge such as physiotherapy, social care and mental health have been decimated by the Tories. The system is failing so badly that there has actually been a rise in readmissions to hospital as support services just aren't there.

"For Maria Caulfield to claim that the system is working well shows that she is living in another world altogether."

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Last week, the government announced it was investing £200 million to boost resilience in the NHS and help patients get the care they needed as quickly as possible this winter.

This follows what many in the NHS called the ‘most challenging winter it has ever known’, with waiting lists for planned treatment and routine operations reaching 7.6 million.

Sir Julian Harley, chief executive of NHS providers, said aftercare and social care issues needed to be addressed this winter.

He stated that some NHS trusts saw 14,000 patients-a-day who would have been better served in community-based care, rather than in hospital.

Sir Julian said on the Today Programme: "I think we have to address the social care question, because we have seen the financial pressure acting on the local authorities. The impact of underfunding on social care has been enormous. It’s not just about social care’s rolling discharge its about what social care does to support people to stay well in there own homes and communities and avoid coming into hospital in the first place.”

Mr McCleary called on the government to recruit more social care staff to address this issue, saying: “The government should at least be recruiting more social care staff ahead of the winter. There is no quick solution to what is a complicated and large-scale problem, but to hear ministers like Ms Caulfield simply pretending that all is well is an insult to those who are suffering."