Abstract

Across most care systems, a critical question is how to achieve the right balance between services to ensure equitable and efficient use of resources. An important consideration in this regard is the extent to which different services interact with one another, either because combinations of services are required to address specific needs at a given point in time and/or because supply constraints in one service can lead to bottlenecks in care pathways.

The paper uses individual-level data about older inpatient hospital patients in England to explore the impact of differences in the levels of social care supply on hospital lengths of stay. The analyses develop different measures of social care supply, and explore variations in the impact of social care supply on the time of discharge for emergency and elective admissions.