THE strength of the pound and Brexit could be contributing towards hospital bed blocking it has been claimed, as leading councillors warned uncertainty over Britain’s departure from the EU could put the future of key services in jeopardy.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive heard vacancy levels in frontline care roles were high and the availability of care home providers to take on patients had accounted for 35 per cent of the delays in transferring patients from hospital this year.

The meeting was told there had been “a real change in the labour force over the past six to 12 months”, in coastal areas in particular, and the care sector could no longer rely on attracting staff who had initially come to North Yorkshire to work in seasonal summer jobs.

Corporate director of health and adult services Richard Webb said: “Those people are tending not to stay. They are going back to other parts of Europe. We are beginning to see some labour shortages.”

In response, the authority has launched a social care recruitment campaign, which includes action to draw more men into caring as a career.

Health and adult services boss Councillor Michael Harrison said the drain of staff could be related to the strength of the pound or Brexit, but the result was significant. He said: “That’s real in terms of someone could be stuck in hospital because they are in need of a social care package at home and there isn’t the private sector firm there willing or able to provide the care.

“We are not standing still, but at the same time recognise there is pockets of big challenge that are there.”

Meanwhile, the meeting heard the authority’s deputy leader Councillor Gareth Dadd issue an appeal to MPs to end uncertainty over Brexit as services funding was linked to economic growth and tax revenues. He said with the UK’s economic outlook appearing “volatile to say the least”, the authority’s leadership was “yearning for some stability”.

Cllr Dadd said: “The instability in the market highlights quite clearly over the next few weeks we are reliant on our colleagues in Westminster to provide that stability in terms of Brexit because the ramifications are not just for business, but are most definitely for public sector funding as well. It’s the one thing I wake up wishing for every day.”