IN Cumbria we have many claims to fame and lots of them are brilliant, which is why so many people want to live here. However, last week I learnt of one we have that brings me no pleasure at all.

According to some research conducted by the BBC in Cumbria, the levels of bed blocking are worse than any other county in the country. Every day there are 100 people in our area who are ready to leave hospital but because of a lack of resources in social care here, are simply not able to.

The figures are staggering. Our levels of bed blocking are six times higher than the national average and about 50 per cent higher than those in the next worst area (Trafford in Manchester if you are interested). From all of my case work and from what people have told me I knew that there were problems with social care in Cumbria but I have to admit I had no idea that things were quite as depressingly bad as this. The government simply has to spend money in this area.

We all know about the pressures that our health service is under. For months we have discussed the waiting times we face if we visit A&E. But for all of this to be made worse by 100 people using the service who probably would rather not be there and certainly don’t need to be there is madness. It simply results in much more money having to be spent in other areas and the service that the NHS provides to all the rest of us suffering.

Cumbria is an area lots of people retire to. We are also a healthy bunch, which is why we have a much higher average age than most other parts of the country. The pressure on social services in Cumbria is only going to grow. The government really must face up to this and start to spend more on this area. If this means increasing taxes to pay for it then clearly this is what needs to happen. There are just some areas where you need to find the money and caring for us as we get older is surely one of them.

But what worries me even more is that I am sure that these record levels of bed blocking are really a symptom of something bigger. It is not simply that social services are unable to provide the service needed to people who are trying to leave hospital; if services are being pushed to this degree there are almost certainly pressures in other areas as well. The quality of care that is being provided to elderly people at home cannot be of a standard that we would wish for ourselves and our families.

Following, as it does, the news about the levels of cuts our teachers are expecting in education in Cumbria, the signs are that the next few years under this government are not going to be happy ones for any of us.