YP Letters: Keep cottage hospitals open and cure '˜bed blocking' crisis

FOLLOWING the excellent article by Andrew Vine regarding social care, one of the main reasons for so-called ‘bed blocking’ in our area is due to local community hospitals in East Yorkshire losing beds, or others going in the future, due to decisions made by the local clinical commissioning group (CCG).

Patients at one time could have come out of the larger hospitals in our area – York, Hull or Scarborough – and continued their recovery prior, hopefully, to going back home.

This would have been assisted by the fact that family and friends were much nearer to visit.

Even if you drive, visiting larger hospitals can often involve a round trip of nearly 50 miles.

Also the current transport system in rural areas would be even worse and difficult to fit in with visiting times and 
could be a full day’s trip 
for some.

I agree with Andrew Vine, and your letter writer Hilary Andrews (The Yorkshire Post, January 22), that the 
whole hospital care system 
needs to be given a complete overhaul.