A LACK of community facilities is causing stroke patients to stay in hospital longer than necessary.

Colchester General Hospital’s stroke unit is suffering a “squeeze on capacity” because it cannot discharge enough patients when they are well enough to leave.

NHS North East Essex primary care trust said a new system will be in place by the end of the year.

It will work with Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Turner Road hospital, to develop more community-based facilities.

NHS North East Essex’s service development plan described a “bottleneck currently in the system” with patients in stroke beds at the hospital who could be discharged to community-supported care.

It added dealing with capacity at the hospital “is likely to be a challenge”.

Paul Watson, chief executive of NHS North East Essex, said considerable improvements had been made in stroke care.

He added: “At the moment there is a mismatch between between capacity and demand for patients going through the stroke unit at Colchester.”

A spokesman for Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust said: “Some stroke patients who no longer have a medical need to be in Colchester General Hospital have to spend longer there due to insufficient capacity in the community.

“It results in a squeeze on capacity on our stroke unit.

“As Dr Watson acknowledged, the long-term solution is more home-based and community-based rehabilitation services.

“We are talking with the primary care trust about what measures can be taken quickly to address this issue.”

l NHS North East Essex has vowed to maintain its standards as the Government announced plans to monitor it less.

The Government has said there will be fewer centrally-set and monitored targets that health trusts must meet, including a target for an 18-week maximum wait between referral and treatment for patients.

NHS North East Essex has said it will continue to build the target into contracts with healthcare providers to keep up the standard.