Royal Cornwall Hospital's radical bed-blocking solution

Patients at the Royal Cornwall Hospital could be driven home by nursing staff or therapists under radical plans to tackle bed shortages.

The hospital in Truro is operating at full capacity, often with up to 50 people awaiting discharge at one time.

That means those beds are unavailable for new patients.

Patients could be driven home by nursing staff or therapists at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, under radical plans to tackle bed shortages.

The hospital is operating at full capacity, often with up to 50 people awaiting discharge at one time.

That means those beds are unavailable for new patients.

The RCHT is considering a scheme in which patients who need social care packages or to be transferred to Community Hospitals are transferred by its own staff to reduce delays.

Health watchdogs say the idea is possible with the right staffing.

In March, the Quality Care Commission criticised the RCH for cancelling or delaying too many operations due to bed shortages.