NEARLY 9,000 patients were deprived of hospital beds in Reading and West Berkshire last year due to problems in the social care system.

New figures released by NHS England show 14 beds a day are unnecessarily blocked in Reading and West Berkshire, totalling 4,424 and 4,340 days a year respectively.

This means West Berkshire is the sixteenth and Reading the seventeenth worst authority in the country for getting patients out of hospital and into care, in cases where social care problems delayed successful transfer.

Reading Borough Council's lead member for health, Councillor Graeme Hoskins, believes the numbers are a cause for concern.

He said: “Across the country there is growing concern about the level of care home spaces available and whether funding is enough to keep them going.

“There is also the particular issue of recruiting carers in Reading and similar high cost areas. We pay care workers above the agreed government wage, which helps to an extent.

“I would say the cuts to council and NHS funding are putting an enormous strain on the system.

"We are doing the best we can, but in Reading and across the country there is a big gap between the funding that's required and the funding that's received.

“I think people should be concerned.”

Over the next three years Reading will receive a share of just over £4m and West Berkshire £1.5m of an additional £2bn central government grant for adult social care.

As the money is distributed based on 'relative need', affluent areas such as Reading and West Berkshire receive a comparatively small amount.

Birmingham for example, which suffered similar levels to Reading of bed blockage per person, will receive almost 13 times more funding, despite its population being only seven times greater.