October 2: Where is the joined-up care? Hospital ‘bed-blocking’ is self-defeating

Their budgets have simply not been able to cope with historical deficits – and unprecedented demand from patients for treatment. Pessimistic reports about the implications of this cash crisis, coupled with longstanding staff shortages, are now a daily occurrence.

Yet, while the public’s respect for the medical profession has never been greater, there are still occasions when poor management compounds the problems. This is exemplified by the sheer number of so-called ‘bed-blockers’ who are clogging up Yorkshire’s hospitals because of delays in arranging their discharge. Though most of these instances involve elderly patients waiting for suitable care arrangements to be put in place at home, or in their local community, there have been instances of far younger, and more mobile, people waiting nearly a week for back braces.

This is not a new phenomenon – the relationship between hospitals and social care providers has become increasingly fractured – but it is self-defeating and NHS chiefs need to put more effective measures in place to remedy this. Nearly 100 beds in Leeds alone were filled this week by patients waiting to be discharged and the cost to taxpayers in the West Yorkshire city now stands at £500,000 a month.

It is money that the Health Service can ill-afford to squander – just think how many nurses and doctors could be recruited if there was joined-up care.

Railway realities: Local services are just the ticket

ALthough the Government was not sufficiently clear on the original objectives of HS2, high-speed rail is critical to the future of train travel – this scheme, the biggest infrastructure project ever to be undertaken in this country, will ease capacity on the existing network and pave the way for more regional services to run.

However the Department for Transport needs to recognise that the demand for these additional trains is immediate – the number of passengers using Leeds Station has increased by 146 per cent in 10 years– and the electrification of the TransPennine route, now back on track following a campaign led by The Yorkshire Post, will not be completed until 2022.

Yet, while commuters will have been reassured by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin’s assurances that the outdated Pacer services – little more than buses with train wheels bolted on the under-carriage – will be consigned to the scrap heap by the end of the decade, he needs to ensure that the new TransPennine Express and Northern franchises reflect the record demand for train services in this region.

It is imperative that Mr McLoughlin awards these deals to rail operators who are prepared to invest in Yorkshire commuter services now. With a disproportionate amount of public money continuing to be spent on London-centric schemes like Crossrail, it will be iniquitious –and also a betrayal of the Northern Powerhouse’s wider economic objectives – if travellers have to wait for the completion of HS2 before they get a local railway which alleviates the intolerable levels of overcrowding being experienced at present.

Wheel of fortune: Make Tour de Yorkshire four days

IT remains inexplicable that British Cycling has refused to sanction a four-day Tour de Yorkshire – the governing body’s decision looks increasingly indefensible. This year’s inaugural event, staged over three days in early May, attracted 1.5m spectators. Compare this with the 650,000 fans who watched the recent World Championships in America over a 10-day period.

It does not end here – Britain’s top cyclists, headed by Tour de France trailblazers Mark Cavendish and Chris Froome, are among the biggest names in the sport to give their blessing to Welcome to Yorkshire’s plan; they have said an additional stage will increase the likelihood of the world’s top riders competing here.

As such, it can only be assumed that cycling’s ruling body is worried about its own Tour of Britain being upstaged by not only the Yorkshire race, but Sir Gary Verity’s desire to do even more to promote women’s cycling after Otley’s Lizzie Armitstead became world champion.

It is not sufficient reason for British Cycling to puncture the Tour de Yorkshire’s ambitions, the governing body should use every opportunity to exploit the popularity of its sport and its response is awaited with interest.