HSE urged to charge families who block hospital discharges

A British consultancy firm has reportedly advised the Health Service Executive to consider the possibility of charging families who "block" the discharge of elderly relatives from hospitals.

The company, Tribal Secta, recently carried out an inspection of 10 Irish hospitals to assess the causes of A&E overcrowding.

Reports this morning said the consultants had found that a large part of the problem was the fact that acute hospital beds were being taken up by elderly patients because of a lack of nursing home places.

However, they also reportedly found that some families of elderly patients were refusing to apply for nursing home subventions that would assist with the cost of private nursing-home care.