Almost half the hospital beds reserved for acute care are filled with people who are medically fit for discharge.

The Bermuda Hospitals Board revealed that 42 out of 90 inpatient beds in the hospital’s Acute Care Wing — about 46 per cent — had held patients on average of 70 days, with the longest being more than nine months.

The average age for these patients was 76 and, while they were medically stable, many could not leave because they had nowhere safe to stay.

Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, called on families to step up and assist their loved ones, saying: “While healthcare systems must invest in these long-term solutions to address patients who are medically fit for discharge, families play a crucial role in the immediate response.”

Ms Wilson recognised these figures might concern the public, adding that “behind each patient is an individual in need of assistance”.

She said the Government supported the BHB’s efforts to develop long-term solutions.

The data was discovered during a study carried out by the BHB on Wednesday.

It found that, of these 42 patients, 24 per cent had been in the hospital for three months or more, while 12 per cent had been there for six months or longer.

The hospital’s general wing is used as overflow when the acute care is full.

The analysis had an additional 24 patients who were medically fit for discharge, with the longest stay being almost two years.

The average age of this overflow is 78 years, with the average stay being 262 days, or more than nine months.

The study also found that 88 per cent of these patients had been in hospital for more than three months, while 58 per cent had been in hospital for more than six months.

R. Scott Pearman, chief executive and president of the BHB, noted that the number of those medically fit for discharge had increased by 50 per cent compared with June 2023, when there were only 25 patients in acute care inpatient beds.

He said it had risen “over the last few months”, causing waits for emergency patients needing an inpatient bed, and said the problem was worsened by a lack of available beds at nursing homes.

Mr Pearman said: “We obviously implore families to take their loved ones home as soon as they are ready to be discharged, when possible.

“We know Bermuda needs more affordable nursing home placements and affordable care support for people at home, but the impact on hospital services of these delayed discharges is detrimental to others needing acute, surgical and emergency services and those patients trying to return from medical institutions overseas.

“It also increases hospital costs that the healthcare system overall has to bear.”

Between September 2023 and October 2024 there were 563 cancelled surgeries, 40 of which had to be called off owing to a lack of beds.

However, the main cause was patient cancellation ‒ 103 times during the same timespan.

Mr Pearman said that long-stay patients in the ACW whose releases were delayed would eventually be moved to the general wing as they did not need long-term care.

Those services were reserved for seniors whose needs could not be met at care homes.

Despite this, Mr Pearman said: “This means they are still using beds that others need.

“Most importantly, they are not in the environment best suited for their needs, impacting their quality of life and putting them at risk of unnecessary physical deterioration.”

Mr Pearman urged the public to use emergency services wisely and to ensure relative ready for discharge could go home as soon as possible.

He said: “While we are focusing on the impact of delayed discharges, we should also be wise about our own health and care.

“We have had as many as 30 people waiting for admission in our emergency departments and this impacts everyone coming in.

“So please use your GP in the weekday or go to the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care service between 9am and 9pm on Saturday and Sunday if it is not a true emergency.

“Avoid the need of emergency services by taking any medications for chronic conditions, getting available vaccines that safely prevent flu, measles and other diseases, and don’t drink or do drugs and drive.

“Make sure the emergency services can focus on the true emergencies, such as strokes, heart attacks and other life-threatening conditions.”

This week, The Royal Gazette contacted several nursing homes to ask about occupancy levels, with many administrators confirming that facilities were continually filled to capacity.

One said: “We have people on a waiting list, so whenever a bed does become available, it’s filled pretty much straight away.”

A BHB spokeswoman said that a “100-day challenge” was held at the start of 2024 to find and improve internal approaches to bed flow.

A task force was also created to follow up on these improvements and develop the more complex solutions.

The BHB spokeswoman added: “The increasing number of medically fit for discharge patients in hospital is something BHB cannot control.”