Clause 4 - Liability to make delayed discharge payments
Community Care (Delayed Discharge etc.) Bill
4:45 pm
Ms Jacqui Smith (Minister of State, Department of Health; Redditch, Labour)
Nevertheless, the point remains that there is not, as Opposition Members frequently assert, an automatic link between reductions in the level of delayed discharge and emergency readmission. This morning I talked about the significant reductions in delayed discharge since 1997. There has not been a big increase in emergency readmissions during that time.