The number of elderly people taken into care across Havering nearly doubled in the second quarter of the financial year, a committee heard.
Between July and September 2021, 164 people over 65 were permanently admitted to residential and nursing care homes compared to 84 in the same period in 2020.
The 2021 figure equates to 352.6 admissions per 100,000 over-65s in the borough – above the 154.8 recorded in the previous quarter and the 154.1 recorded over the same period in 2020.
According to a council report presented to Havering’s individuals overview and scrutiny sub-committee on January 5, the rise has been driven by larger numbers being discharged into care homes from hospital due to Covid-19.
Of those admitted to care homes in Q2, 62.8 per cent had been discharged from hospital, compared with 35.8pc pre-pandemic.
The report stated that these pressures would likely continue through winter and said services would work with Queen's Hospital to avoid “unnecessary” discharges into care homes.
While the NHS currently pays for additional costs of patients four weeks after discharge, the local authority is responsible for the full costs after this period.
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