THE social services department will be charged £100 a day if it prevents a patient's discharge from hospital by blocking beds in nursing and care homes.

Under new government legislation coming into force in January, local authorities will have to reimburse hospital trusts £100 per patient, per day if they are at fault for delaying their discharge.

The aim of the initiative, primarily focused on elderly patients, is to create incentives for social services and health partners to minimise the problem of "bed blocking" and ensure patients can return to the community.

Health chiefs believe the longer a patient remains in hospital, the greater the chance of that person catching an infection.

They believe that providing care and support away from hospital -- either in a nursing home or supporting patients in their own home -- is the best way of helping patients to recover and retain their independence.

Acute hospital trusts, including Airedale Hospital, have a duty to notify the relevant local authorities, in this case Bradford Council and North Yorkshire County Council, when patients are ready for discharge and if they are likely to need community care.

Hospitals will notify local authorities at least three days before the planned discharge date.

If social services is solely responsible for delaying a patient's discharge, the £100 daily payment will be triggered until the patient is transferred.

However, charges will not be levied if the delay is due to a change in a patient's condition.

A joint protocol has been drawn up by Airedale NHS Trust, Airedale Primary Care Trust, Craven, Harrogate and Rural District Primary Care Trust, Bradford Social Services and North Yorkshire County Council to avoid the need for the payments.

Programme director of older people Denise Arnott said the aim was to provide an integrated service that would provide a smooth and safe transition for patients.

She said: "At Airedale PCT we do have a good track record of working closely with social services and we do have limited delays.

"We need to make sure there is progress so that patients can move out of acute beds.

"We've been strengthening the discharge team that works in Airedale Hospital to provide a much smarter, quicker service.

"At Airedale PCT we have also commissioned extra beds at Thompson Court, in Crossflatts, for Airedale people to use if they are not ready to go home and need further rehabilitation services."

The new protocol only applies to adult patients in acute beds and does not include mental health or learning disabilities, rehabilitation, maternity and intermediate care.

Until April 2005, Sundays and public holidays do not count towards the three day minimum period following assessment.

A Bradford Council social services spokesman said: "We are receiving £443,000 of government funding to back this legislation and a district-wide reimbursement group, whose members include the council, Airedale NHS Trust, Bradford Teaching Hospitals Trust and four primary care trusts has been set up.

"This group has been meeting since April to look into reasons for delays around discharges, so that we can work together to eradicate them before January when the legislation comes into force.

"A report on the impact of this legislation and how the main health agencies in the district are working with the council to deal with it will be discussed by the council's executive and key boards of these health agencies in September."