Are volunteers the answer to bed blocking?
I was in a really interesting meeting this morning where “bed blocking” came up. Lots of hospitals are having issues with patients stuck in beds for 14+ or 21+ days, medically fit but awaiting a nursing home bed (all the time getting frailer).
A really good question was asked - is there any way in which we can utilise the surge in goodwill/ volunteering that happened at the start of covid? Could we discharge to own home if volunteers did the shopping/cleaned the house/helped prepare meals etc? Could a community/neighbours/volunteers provide a reliable support network - when family/homes couldn’t? Could they support more formal care so it went further? NB: I’m not talking nursing care.