ANDOVER War Mem-orial Hospital has managed to cut its bed-blocking problem by 10 per cent in two months.

The bed-blocking was caused mainly by delayed discharges of elderly patients.

In July Winchester and Eastleigh Health Care NHS Trust chairman Barbara North reported that 40 per cent of patients at Andover were well enough to leave but there was nowhere for them to go.

She said: "It means that other patients suffer as a result because the waiting times get longer. We have to occasionally cancel operations and it puts enormous pressure on our staff."

But the figure has now reduced to 30 per cent (16 out of 52) of beds taken up by patients who no longer need hospital care.

Reducing delayed discharges is the trust's number one priority. Bed-blocking is being tackled across the trust.

An internal action plan has been developed in a bid to get rid of bottlenecks in the system.

Judy Gillow, director of nursing and organisational development for the trust, said: "We're delighted with the fall in numbers of blocked beds at Andover but there is still a long way to go.

"We've been working really hard with our own staff and our partners at Mid Hampshire PCT and Hampshire Social Services to come up with alternatives to long stays in hospital."

As well as hindering targets, delayed discharges can inhibit a patient's ability to regain independence.

"Getting the right care in the right place has to be a priority for us all if we are to continue to make inroads into this difficult problem," she added.

"Staff at Andover give a high standard of care to patients who are in this situation, but we must all realise that enabling those patients to go on to nursing homes or back to their own homes is really the best thing."

Measures being tried at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital - as part of the internal action plan - might also be rolled out to Andover if they prove successful.

Mrs Gillow said planning permission had been granted for a 60-bed nursing home on land at the Andover hospital site, which will ease the situation both at the hospital and in the Andover area.

And social services staff who are based at the trust's hospitals continue to work with hospital staff to find nursing home places or arrange the support some patients need to be able to go back to their own homes.