The Darzi report on the NHS in 2024 paints a bleak picture: hospitals are bursting at the seams, with bed occupancy at a staggering 91%. As we brace for another winter crisis, this spells trouble. Every day, more than 12,000 patients are stuck in beds they don’t need to be in, which leads to a vicious cycle of ambulance queues, emergency department (ED) overcrowding, and overworked staff. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With the right tools and a commitment to change, we can solve this crisis. At CAREFUL, we believe our clinical collaboration software can be a big part of the solution.
What is bed blocking, and why does it matter?
Bed blocking occurs when patients occupy hospital beds even though they’re medically fit to leave. This happens for several reasons: they might be waiting for a care package at home, a place in a community hospital, or something as simple as a discharge summary. According to the Darzi report, nearly 2,000 patients are waiting for a medical decision or the completion of paperwork before they can be discharged.
Why is this such a problem? Because it creates a logjam. When patients who no longer need acute care take up beds, there’s no room for new admissions. This means patients are left waiting in EDs or stuck in ambulances outside hospitals, unable to get the care they need. The whole system grinds to a halt, putting lives at risk. The report even shows that with the right political will, such as that shown in the early stages of the Covid pandemic, bed occupancy can be pushed down to less than 80%. But this requires more than just policy – it needs better coordination and communication at the frontline.
How CAREFUL can help
CAREFUL is a clinical collaboration platform designed to save time and reduce frustration for doctors and nurses. We know from our work in the NHS that our software can save each clinician around 30 minutes per shift. This might sound small, but across an entire hospital, it adds up quickly. This time-saving comes from eliminating inefficient communication methods like phone calls, WhatsApp messages and endless email chains. Instead, CAREFUL provides a single platform where all team members can see what’s happening with a patient in real-time, assign and track tasks, and communicate seamlessly.
This isn’t just about making life easier for clinicians – though that’s a big part of it. It’s about freeing up time so that staff can focus on what really matters: getting patients the care they need and, when appropriate, getting them home. This is how we can address the issue of bed blocking head-on. By improving coordination, we can ensure that when a patient is ready for discharge, everything is in place to make it happen quickly and smoothly.
The human cost of inefficiency
Healthcare workers are exhausted. Burnout rates are soaring, and it’s no wonder. They’re constantly firefighting, trying to provide quality care in a system that seems to throw up roadblocks at every turn. Much of this frustration stems from inefficiency. When you have to spend precious minutes – sometimes hours – trying to track down a colleague or waiting for information that should be readily available, it’s demoralising.
The Darzi report makes it clear that the NHS’s problems aren’t just about funding. They’re about how we use the resources we already have. Doctors and nurses shouldn’t be wasting time on administrative tasks that could be streamlined or automated. They should be caring for patients. That’s why we built CAREFUL: to give healthcare staff the tools they need to do their jobs more effectively and with less stress.
Making a difference to staff and patients alike
Let’s take a typical scenario in a busy hospital. A patient is medically fit to go home, but they’re still in a bed because their discharge summary hasn’t been completed. The doctor is tied up in meetings, and the nurses are too busy managing acute cases to chase down the paperwork. Meanwhile, an elderly patient with a fractured hip is waiting in the ED for a bed to become available. This is the kind of bottleneck that CAREFUL can help eliminate.
With our platform, the doctor can see at a glance which patients are awaiting discharge and what’s holding things up. They can then assign the task to a colleague or even handle it themselves with a few clicks. Nurses can use the same platform to check the status of all their patients and coordinate with other departments, like physiotherapy or pharmacy, to make sure everything is ready for the patient to leave.
This kind of real-time, cross-team collaboration is crucial. It not only speeds up the discharge process but also improves patient care. When everyone knows what’s happening, things run more smoothly, and patients feel more informed and reassured. And when patients leave the hospital earlier, it has a ripple effect: beds are freed up, EDs are less crowded and ambulances can offload patients more quickly.
Addressing the winter crisis before it hits
The winter crisis isn’t just a headline – it’s a reality that plays out in hospitals across the country every year. As the Darzi report highlights, the NHS is at breaking point, and without intervention, things will only get worse. But we can change the narrative. By making small, targeted improvements now, we can prevent a full-blown crisis later.
Imagine if every hospital using CAREFUL could reduce bed occupancy by just a few percentage points. It would mean thousands more beds available every day. It would mean fewer patients stuck in EDs and fewer ambulances waiting outside hospitals. It would mean a safer, more efficient system for everyone.
The need for political will – and practical action
The Darzi report calls for a bold, 10-year plan to reform the NHS. It emphasises the need for better use of technology, improved management structures and a focus on patient-centred care. These are all areas where CAREFUL can make a tangible difference. But we can’t do it alone. It requires commitment from policymakers and healthcare leaders to invest in the right solutions and to push for the changes we know are needed.
We’ve seen what’s possible when the NHS pulls together. During the early stages of the pandemic, we transformed how care was delivered almost overnight. That same sense of urgency and collaboration is needed now. With the right tools and a shared vision, we can overcome the challenges facing the NHS and create a system that works for everyone.
A call to action
The Darzi report is a wake-up call, but it’s also an opportunity. We can either let this winter unfold like so many before it, or we can take decisive action to change the course. CAREFUL is ready to be part of the solution, helping to unlock the potential of our healthcare system by improving clinical collaboration and efficiency.
We’re not claiming to have all the answers, but we know that with better coordination and communication, we can make a real difference. For doctors and nurses struggling under the weight of an inefficient system. For patients who deserve timely, quality care. And for the NHS, which needs to find a way to thrive, not just survive.
The clock is ticking. Let’s not waste this chance.
