FOLLOWING your article regarding hospital discharges (Changing beds, The Press, May 29), we would like to make some further observations.

Archways is not an intermediate care centre. Grove House provided this service until cutbacks in autumn 2006.

Archways is not an extension of hospital, but accepts patients from the community to prevent hospital admission, and to provide a specific service not appropriate for everyone.

From our understanding, Archways only accepts hospital patients when appropriate and when there is space.

We are very worried about the referrals we are receiving, which have increased dramatically due to pressure across other services.

We are also concerned about people slipping through the net: those not eligible for home care or choosing not to have it, and who go home with little or no appropriate help and support, putting even more pressure on the statutory sector, possibly leading to readmission to hospital.

Our Age Concern York service, hospital-based and funded by the primary care trust (PCT), enables people to return home when medically fit, but not quite ready to resume normal lifestyles. We complement other services, fill gaps these leave and provide a monitoring role.

Our Home From Hospital service then may refer on to other services, such as befriending, practical support and money advice, enabling older people to remain independent and stay at home as long as they wish.

We are concerned short-term discharges to Selby War Memorial Hospital may mean more older people being missed by our service, and urge social workers and nursing staff to refer to both Age Concern York and Age Concern Selby (who have a similar service).

We hope the PCT reconsiders intermediate care beds as soon as possible, and suggest returning to the successful set-up at Grove House, or another similar community setting.

Nicky Openshaw, Age Concern York Hospital services manager,
Sally Hutchinson, chief officer, Age Concern York.