Insufficient social care provision leading to discharge delays

Each row is one judged link between an earlier and a later report. Open a row to read both quotes, found word for word in the originals. ?Every quote shown was checked by code to appear word for word in the original report.

• 2023 → 2024Dennis Harry10 months after Kenneth Heard · same coronerIdentical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Identical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Both reports identify insufficient social care provision in Cornwall as the root cause of ambulance handover and response delays. They describe how this leads to delayed discharges, emergency department crowding, and consequent ambulance delays.

  Kenneth Heard · 23 Nov 2023

  “The root cause for ambulance delays was found to be the lack of social care provision in Cornwall, whether care packages or beds in care homes.”

  Check it in the source

  Dennis Harry · 22 Sept 2024

  “There is a direct connection between the risk of excessive ambulance delays and inadequate social care provision, community hospital provision and primary healthcare support for discharges in Cornwall.”

  Check it in the source

  Stated action in the response to the earlier report

  “we published our 'Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services' which aims to deliver sustained improvements in waiting times. Our ambitions for this year are to improve A&E waiting times to 78% of patients to be admitted, transferred, or discharged from A&E within four hours by March 2025, and to reduce Category 2 ambulance response times to 30 minutes on average across this fiscal year.”

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app

• 2020 → 2024Junior Powell4 years 4 months after Reginald Collins · different coronerClosely relatedConfidence 0.90 · high

  Closely relatedConfidence 0.90 · high

  Both reports identify delayed patient discharge caused by insufficient post‑hospital care placements as blocking acute beds.

  Reginald Collins · 30 Jul 2020

  “The delay in his discharge via Adult Social Care meant that an acute hospital bed was not available to the Trust.”

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  Junior Powell · 2 Dec 2024

  “That delay in discharge for patients ready to be discharged due to lack of suitable social care in the community is causing congestion in the hospital admission process”

  Check it in the source

  Stated action in the response to the earlier report

  “a GM Discharge Pathway and good Discharge to Assess (D2A) system in place”

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app

• 2023 → 2025Andrew Waters1 year 4 months after Kenneth Heard · same coronerIdentical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Identical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Both reports identify insufficient social care provision as the root cause preventing medically fit patients from being discharged, which blocks hospital flow and creates ambulance handover delays.

  Kenneth Heard · 23 Nov 2023

  “The root cause for ambulance delays was found to be the lack of social care provision in Cornwall, whether care packages or beds in care homes.”

  Check it in the source

  Andrew Waters · 3 Apr 2025

  “Insufficient social care provision leading to large numbers of patients in hospital who are otherwise fit for discharge, thereby impeding patient flow through hospital.”

  Check it in the source

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app

• 2023 → 2025James Smith1 year 6 months after Kenneth Heard · same coronerIdentical hazardConfidence 0.95 · high

  Identical hazardConfidence 0.95 · high

  Both reports identify insufficient social care provision in Cornwall as the root cause of ambulance delays due to blocked hospital discharges.

  Kenneth Heard · 23 Nov 2023

  “The root cause for ambulance delays was found to be the lack of social care provision in Cornwall, whether care packages or beds in care homes.”

  Check it in the source

  James Smith · 12 May 2025

  “(1) Insufficient social care provision leading to large numbers of patients in hospital who are otherwise fit for discharge, thereby impeding patient flow through hospital, there being a direct link between inadequate social care provision and ambulance delays.”

  Check it in the source

  Stated action in the response to the earlier report

  “we published our 'Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services' which aims to deliver sustained improvements in waiting times. Our ambitions for this year are to improve A&E waiting times to 78% of patients to be admitted, transferred, or discharged from A&E within four hours by March 2025, and to reduce Category 2 ambulance response times to 30 minutes on average across this fiscal year.”

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app

• 2024 → 2025James Smith8 months after Dennis Harry · same coronerIdentical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Identical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Both reports identify insufficient social care provision as causing delayed discharges, which leads to emergency department crowding and excessive ambulance delays. They describe the same causal chain linking social care gaps to ambulance service pressures.

  Dennis Harry · 22 Sept 2024

  “There is a direct connection between the risk of excessive ambulance delays and inadequate social care provision, community hospital provision and primary healthcare support for discharges in Cornwall.”

  Check it in the source

  James Smith · 12 May 2025

  “Insufficient social care provision leading to large numbers of patients in hospital who are otherwise fit for discharge, thereby impeding patient flow through hospital, there being a direct link between inadequate social care provision and ambulance delays.”

  Check it in the source

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app

• 2025 → 2026Geoffrey Fuller1 year 1 month after James Smith · same coronerClosely relatedConfidence 0.90 · high

  Closely relatedConfidence 0.90 · high

  Both reports identify insufficient social care provision as causing patients to remain in hospital who are ready for discharge, which disrupts hospital flow. The earlier report links this to ambulance delays, while the later report emphasizes ED crowding and delayed ward care.

  James Smith · 12 May 2025

  “Insufficient social care provision leading to large numbers of patients in hospital who are otherwise fit for discharge, thereby impeding patient flow through hospital”

  Check it in the source

  Geoffrey Fuller · 18 Jun 2026

  “Data indicates that RCHT have been failing to meet the 4-hour target for a significant number of patients.”

  Check it in the source

  Stated action in the response to the earlier report

  “On 6 June 2025, we published our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26. The plan requires the NHS to focus on those activities that will have the biggest impact on improving urgent and emergency care performance, including ambulance response and handover times: - at least 78% of patients in A&E departments will be seen within 4 hours.”

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app

• 2023 → 2026Geoffrey Fuller2 years 7 months after Kenneth Heard · same coronerClosely relatedConfidence 0.90 · high

  Closely relatedConfidence 0.90 · high

  Both reports identify insufficient social care provision as the root cause of patient flow blockages in the hospital system. The earlier report links this to ambulance handover delays, while the later report links it to emergency department overcrowding.

  Kenneth Heard · 23 Nov 2023

  “The root cause for ambulance delays was found to be the lack of social care provision in Cornwall, whether care packages or beds in care homes.”

  Check it in the source

  Geoffrey Fuller · 18 Jun 2026

  “The court found there was insufficient bed availability on acute wards which was attributable to significant numbers of patients in hospital with no reason to reside (NCTR), these being patients who are medically optimised but cannot be discharged due to lack of onward care support.”

  Check it in the source

  Stated action in the response to the earlier report

  “we published our 'Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services' which aims to deliver sustained improvements in waiting times. Our ambitions for this year are to improve A&E waiting times to 78% of patients to be admitted, transferred, or discharged from A&E within four hours by March 2025, and to reduce Category 2 ambulance response times to 30 minutes on average across this fiscal year.”

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app

• 2024 → 2026Geoffrey Fuller1 year 9 months after Dennis Harry · same coronerIdentical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Identical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Both reports identify insufficient social care provision as a key factor leading to ambulance delays and emergency department crowding. They describe the same causal pathway where lack of discharge support causes patients to remain in hospital, increasing pressure on ED and ambulance services.

  Dennis Harry · 22 Sept 2024

  “There is a direct connection between the risk of excessive ambulance delays and inadequate social care provision, community hospital provision and primary healthcare support for discharges in Cornwall.”

  Check it in the source

  Geoffrey Fuller · 18 Jun 2026

  “The court noted the main cause for the numbers of NCTR patients was insufficient social care provision, whether commissioned by social services or NHS.”

  Check it in the source

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app

• 2024 → 2026Geoffrey Fuller1 year 6 months after Junior Powell · different coronerIdentical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Identical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Both reports identify insufficient social care provision as the barrier preventing patients ready for discharge from leaving hospital, leading to ED congestion and delayed care.

  Junior Powell · 2 Dec 2024

  “delay in discharge for patients ready to be discharged due to lack of suitable social care in the community is causing congestion”

  Check it in the source

  Geoffrey Fuller · 18 Jun 2026

  “The court noted the main cause for the numbers of NCTR patients was insufficient social care provision, whether commissioned by social services or NHS.”

  Check it in the source

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app

• 2025 → 2026Pamela Hindley1 year 4 months after Andrew Waters · same coronerIdentical hazardConfidence 0.95 · high

  Identical hazardConfidence 0.95 · high

  Both reports identify insufficient social care provision as the cause of patients remaining hospitalized despite being fit for discharge, which blocks patient flow.

  Andrew Waters · 3 Apr 2025

  “Insufficient social care provision leading to large numbers of patients in hospital who are otherwise fit for discharge, thereby impeding patient flow through hospital.”

  Check it in the source

  Pamela Hindley · 10 Aug 2026

  “The court found significant numbers of patients in hospital who are medically fit for discharge and with no reason to reside in hospital (NCTR) but cannot be discharged due to lack of available social care provision (whether commissioned by social services or NHS).”

  Check it in the source

  Stated action in the response to the earlier report

  “The NHS planning guidance also includes an implementation target for improving A&E waiting times compared to 2024/25, with a minimum of 78% of patients seen within 4 hours in March 2026 and increasing the proportion of patients admitted, discharged, and transferred from an emergency department within 12 hours across 2025/26 compared to 2024/25.”

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app

• 2023 → 2026Pamela Hindley2 years 9 months after Kenneth Heard · same coronerIdentical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Identical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Both reports identify insufficient social care provision as the root cause preventing discharge of medically fit patients, which creates hospital congestion and ambulance delays.

  Kenneth Heard · 23 Nov 2023

  “The root cause for ambulance delays was found to be the lack of social care provision in Cornwall, whether care packages or beds in care homes.”

  Check it in the source

  Pamela Hindley · 10 Aug 2026

  “The root cause of the need for the rapid discharge event was inadequate social care provision, this being an ongoing situation.”

  Check it in the source

  Stated action in the response to the earlier report

  “we published our 'Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services' which aims to deliver sustained improvements in waiting times. Our ambitions for this year are to improve A&E waiting times to 78% of patients to be admitted, transferred, or discharged from A&E within four hours by March 2025, and to reduce Category 2 ambulance response times to 30 minutes on average across this fiscal year.”

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app

• 2025 → 2026Pamela Hindley1 year 3 months after James Smith · same coronerIdentical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Identical hazardConfidence 0.90 · high

  Both reports identify inadequate social care provision as the cause of patients who are medically fit for discharge remaining in hospital, which impedes patient flow and contributes to ambulance delays.

  James Smith · 12 May 2025

  “Insufficient social care provision leading to large numbers of patients in hospital who are otherwise fit for discharge, thereby impeding patient flow through hospital,”

  Check it in the source

  Pamela Hindley · 10 Aug 2026

  “The root cause of the need for the rapid discharge event was inadequate social care provision, this being an ongoing situation.”

  Check it in the source

  Stated action in the response to the earlier report

  “On 6 June 2025, we published our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26. The plan requires the NHS to focus on those activities that will have the biggest impact on improving urgent and emergency care performance, including ambulance response and handover times: - at least 78% of patients in A&E departments will be seen within 4 hours.”

  Earlier report in the app · Later report in the app