HOMEOWNERS could be asked to rent out spare rooms to patients so they don’t take up precious hospital beds.

Patients recovering from minor hospital procedures could be put up Airbnb style in a private home whose owners could make up to £1,000 a month from the scheme designed to stop bed blocking.

The scheme currently being considered involves Southend Hospital, Southend and Castle Point, Rayleigh and Rochford Clinical Commissioning Groups and Essex and Southend councils.

The company behind it, Care Rooms, said all homeowners would be vetted before they are allowed to host a patient. Homeowners would be expected to heat up delivered meals in a microwave, provide hot drinks and a chat.

Yvonne Blücher, managing director of Southend Hospital, said: “Southend Hospital will never compromise the safety and quality of service which all our patients rightly expect.

“We would like to make it clear that only preliminary discussions have been held across the health and care partners in south east Essex and we have not agreed to support this project at this time. Clearly, if a decision to pilot such a proposal was made, we would expect all safety, quality and regulatory arrangements to be satisfied.”

Southend Save NHS Campaign said the scheme was a bid to cut costs.

A spokesman said: “The risky and unregulated private Care Rooms scheme opens a huge can of worms for safeguarding, governance and possible financial and emotional abuse of people at their most vulnerable time. While we accept that there are issues with delayed transfers of care due to chronic social care cuts and underfunding, we do not accept that this is in the best interest of recovering patients.”

Harry Thirkettle, medical director of Care Rooms , said: “Everyone’s immediate concern is, understandably, safeguarding. We are working hard to be better than standard practice.”