New training tool could help reduce hospital discharge times

NHS England and Health Education England have launched a new tool for health service and care staff to help them reduce hospital delays for patients. Nearly 350,000 patients currently spend over three weeks in acute hospitals each year. Many of those are older people who are often frail, and while a short period of treatment in hospital is sometimes necessary, staying too long can leave them vulnerable to infections or deconditioning. Research suggests that more than one in three 70-year-olds experience muscle ageing during a prolonged stay in hospital, rising to two thirds of those aged over 90, which can leave some