Hampshire social services are expecting a major cash injection to ease the hospital bed-blocking crisis in Winchester.

This week there were 75 elderly people stuck in the Royal Hampshire County Hospital because there were no suitable nursing home places.

Delayed discharges have more than doubled over the last two years as several nursing homes in the area have closed.

The Government is threatening to fine local authorities for delays in discharging pensioners from hospital in a bid to free up National Health Service beds.

Mike Gardiner, partnership manager for social services and the Mid-Hampshire Primary Care Trust, said there was a strategy developed to increase nursing home beds.

Speaking at a public board meeting of the NHS Trust, he said: "We anticipate major capital to increase nursing home capacity and feel that is imminent."

After the meeting a Hampshire County Council spokesman refused to reveal more details, saying an announcement was expected shortly.

At present, the only nursing homes in the area with vacancies cost between £500 and £600 per week-more than social services will pay or most people can afford to fund privately.

This compares to an acute hospital bed, which costs around £2,100 of public money per week.

Pat Petrie, general divisional manager for elderly care at the RHCH, unveiled a new policy for dealing with bed blocking to the board meeting.

She said: "In this area, there is a real shortage of residential and nursing home places and that is something we as a group are working on."

Mrs Petrie thought the issue had to be handled "sensitively", but the plan was to move patients to an "interim or alternative long-term facility", while they waited for a place at a nursing home of their choice.

She said this procedure would not currently affect many patients as there was no alternative provision yet available but it would be future policy.

Barbara North, chairman of the Mid-Hampshire Primary Care Trust, said the Winchester area was likely to get "a large allocation" of government cash to end bed blocking.

She said the area had been specifically discussed by Prime Minister, Tony Blair and Health Minister, Alan Milburn, at Number 10.