Bed blockers cost NHS £4 million a week The report by the NHS Confederation, which represents the majority of health service organisations, estimates that the phenomenon is costing £545,000 a day, just under £200 million a year. It said that 92 per cent of hospital chief executives, chairmen and other senior managers believe the problem has worsened in the last 12 months. The report warns that the problem has both a "financial and human cost" and that council funding for care is not keeping pace with demand. Jo Webber of the NHS Confederation told a newspaper: "The Health Service cannot keep on picking up the pieces of a broken social care system." Aside from the economic cost, bed blocking means hospitals cannot admit new patients as quickly, which can delay waiting times for pre-planned operations Earlier this year, Mike Farrar, chief executive of the NHS Confederation urged urgent action, saying: "Without reform, our health and social care systems are heading for collapse."