Oxfordshire County Council has shown a continuing inability to get to grips with the problem of delayed discharges (“Bed blocking is now worse”, Oxford Mail, August 23).
Recent government figures show that Oxfordshire is again the second worst performing local authority area in the country.
The problem is costing Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals £3.3m annually and causing unnecessary suffering for vulnerable people.
As opposition councillors, we call on Oxfordshire County Council to stop blaming others and work constructively with partner organisations.
It should start by convening a joint meeting of the council’s Adult Services scrutiny committee and Oxfordshire’s Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to look at the problem with both council and NHS representatives in attendance.
It is time for the county council to get a grip on the problem and take responsibility for a situation that has been allowed to deteriorate for too long.
Cllr SUSANNA PRESSEL, Labour, West Central Oxford Member, Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee Cllr RICHARD STEVENS, Labour and Co-operative, Leys and Lye Member, Adult Services Scrutiny Committee
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