OUR picture of Eric Walker shows the human cost of bed blocking. His misery at being all but abandoned by society is painfully clear.

Mr Walker went into York District Hospital in July. There, the 77-year-old fought back from a serious stroke, demonstrating all the tenacity that his family knows and loves.

For some time he has been fit enough to be discharged to a nursing home. But because of the constant pressures on City of York Council's social services budget, a place has yet to be found. So he has been left to languish on the ward.

Anyone who has been an in-patient will understand a little of Mr Walker's unhappiness. All the excellent care from the staff cannot make a hospital bed feel like home. After only a short time on the wards most patients are eagerly anticipating the day they are discharged.

But Mr Walker cannot look forward to such a day. He is fast losing hope.

We should be ashamed that our society continues to allow this to happen. When the Evening Press first exposed the bed blocking crisis last year, we called it unacceptable and urged all the agencies involved to ensure a long-term solution was found.

The council has pumped in extra money. And last month, the Government effectively confirmed that York social services did not have enough money to cope by sanctioning a £189,000 cash boost.

These have only been quick fixes. People like Mr Walker are still suffering.

Moreover, if bed blocking is allowed to go on, we face the prospect of a winter crisis at York District Hospital. It is time the Government accepted the scale of the problem and funded it accordingly.