THE average length of stay in hospital in Gwent for patients who fall into the category of bedblockers, or delayed transfers of care (DTOCs), has fallen to below 30 days, the lowest for several years.

The number of DTOCs in Gwent hospitals remained in the 70-80 bracket in March for the fourth month in succession.

Torfaen and Newport recorded the highest numbers of DTOCs last month, and Monmouthshire and Blaenau Gwent the smallest.

The reduction in average length of stay reflects the efforts of NHS bosses to speed up the transfer system, and to focus on solving cases where patients have been delayed for six months or more.

The largest proportion of DTOCs are now patients who have been waiting up to 21 days to leave hospital after being deemed fit to do so.