Comment on Airbnb style company that bids to place NHS patients in spare rooms
Published on 26 October 2017 10:30 AM
Members of the public with no care experience are being offered up to £1,000 a month to rent spare rooms to patients after they are discharged from hospital, under an Airbnb style model to be piloted by the NHS.
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said:
'I think the simple question to ask about this initiative is how you'd feel if it was proposed for your Mum or Grandma following discharge because they needed help to recover, and I think the honest answer is most people would be somewhere on the spectrum between sceptical and highly concerned.
'There's always a place for innovation in tackling complex problems like delayed discharges, but the NHS owes older people a duty of care when they leave hospital and it is questionable whether it can be met in this way.'