The Scottish Government is “failing miserably” to prevent patients being discharged promptly from NHS Lanarkshire’s hospitals, according to an MSP.
Meghan Gallacher has hit out at the SNP over an increase in delayed discharge – often due to what is referred to as “bed blocking” – claiming too many patients are enduring “unnecessary and prolonged stays in hospital”.
As well as an increase of almost a fifth in the number of patients delayed in Scotland’s hospitals, the Conservative politician also highlighted a 12 per cent month-on-month increase in the average number of beds being occupied each day.
The MSP for the Central Scotland region cited former Scottish Health Secretary Shona Robison who in 2015 said she was “absolutely determined” to eradicate delayed discharges from Scotland’s hospitals.
Recent statistics from Public Health Scotland reveal however that in NHS Lanarkshire the number of patients enduring prolonged stays increased by 34 per cent between December 2021 and January this year.
The MSP believes the number of patients subject to delayed discharge is having a major knock-on effect on A&E waiting times in NHS Lanarkshire because an increasing number of beds are already occupied.
“The SNP promised to eradicate delayed discharge from our hospitals over seven years ago but simply haven’t done so,” Ms Gallacher told Lanarkshire Live.
“In fact, the number of beds being occupied every single day is soaring on the SNP’s watch.
“There are far too many patients in NHS Lanarkshire suffering unnecessary and prolonged stays in hospitals.
“SNP Ministers are failing to ensure social care services in Central Scotland are fully resourced to ensure patients can return to their local communities as quickly as possible.
“The result of ever-rising numbers of beds being taken up is an increased strain on NHS Lanarkshire with rising A&E waiting times and a huge backlog of appointments continuing to spiral.
“Humza Yousaf must use these figures as a wake-up call to outline plans to finally tackle delayed discharge in NHS Lanarkshire and stop letting patients down.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “We remain in the midst of a global pandemic and Scotland’s NHS and social care services are under more pressure than at any previous stage.
"Recent months have seen extreme pressures across the whole health and social care system and this has seen more people coming through hospitals who need high levels of care and support to go home.
“We have announced significant additional funding to address this, including £62m to enhance care at home, £48m to increase the hourly rate of pay, £40m to support interim care arrangements and £20m to enhance multi-disciplinary teams.
"We have also recently launched our ‘discharge without delay’ programme, backed by £5m, to help local health and social care partnerships improve discharge planning arrangements.
“We are working alongside our Health Boards, and local partners with urgency and pace to safely discharge people to their own homes, or to an appropriate care home or community setting.
"We are doing this in the best interests of the individual involved and to also help us maximise capacity during this time of extreme pressure within our NHS.”
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