Letter: 'Bed-blockers' are victims of system
Have we become so callous as a society that we now describe elderly vulnerable people who are stuck in hospital with nowhere suitable to go as "bed blockers"?
These so-called "bed blockers" are human beings. This situation has come about because local authorities are so cash starved by central Government that there has been no choice but to cut social care budgets. The result is the crisis which we are now witnessing in A&E departments, where patients requiring in-patient treatment cannot be moved to a bed because of so-called "bed blockers".
It is disingenuous to blame patients. With a rising elderly population, many of whom have complex medical needs, it is apparent that they will require more care.
Do we envisage a return to the workhouse that my grandparents dreaded?
Our politicians should acknowledge the true picture and have an honest debate about funding the NHS. Our NHS, in a US study, was found to be top of 11 other wealthy countries for quality of care, performance and low cost. In bottom place incidentally was the US, that we seem to be increasingly modelling ourselves on!
I would willingly pay more tax to maintain our excellent NHS and would be wary of politicians promising tax cuts in the forthcoming General Election.
We really have to decide what sort of society we want in the future.
Jill Harvey, Shrewsbury
