Scottish Government
 Printable version
|
Commitment to winter preparations
Health Secretary visits NHS Ayrshire & Arran.
Health boards across Scotland are putting final preparations in place to meet demand over the winter months following a total investment of £18.2 million from the Scottish Government.
Health Secretary Shona Robison saw first-hand the work underway when she visited NHS Ayrshire & Arran and met with staff working on the integration of health and social care services – which is key to tackling delayed discharge.
The additional investment is the total of recent announcements and includes:
- £8.2 million from the £50 million Unscheduled Care Action Plan fund to improve the way emergency care operates within hospitals
- £10 million to address delayed discharge.
NHS Ayrshire and Arran has received almost £1 million of this funding which is being used to help stop people being admitted to or delayed in hospital unnecessarily as well as reduce delays in discharging or admitting patients from A&E.
Ms Robison met with A&E and health and social care partnership staff at University Hospital Crosshouse, ahead of NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s annual review.
The Cabinet Secretary said yesterday:
“Improving A&E waiting times and patient flow through hospital as well as tackling delayed discharge is key to ensuring the NHS is ready for winter.
“I have made cutting the number of people stuck in hospital and unable to get home a top priority, which is why I met with staff at NHS Ayrshire & Arran today to discuss their plans for integrating health and social care services – a key way to reduce delayed discharge.
“Sometimes hospital is absolutely the best place to be for patients and the only place where they can receive suitable care. But we know that often people are admitted to or stay in hospital when they could be better cared for in the community or at home.
“My aim for our health and social care is to reduce the number of people who are unnecessarily in hospital and our recent funding is being used to make sure health boards have robust plans in place to tackle this over the winter months when these issues are most pressing.
“This funding is now being used to improve patient flow through hospital, moving people from A&E into an appropriate ward quicker and ensuring people can be discharged from hospital when they are ready to leave, with appropriate support in place if needed.
“The funding will also be used to inform people about when they should turn to A&E – it is vital that people only go to A&E if they have had an accident or their condition falls into the emergency category. For anything else, NHS 24 and GP out of hours services are available throughout the festive period – and indeed the whole of the winter.”
Liz Moore, Director for Acute Services for NHS Ayrshire & Arran, said:
“We were delighted to welcome the Health Secretary to University Hospital Crosshouse and to have the opportunity to share our preparations for the winter months.
“This year we are working closely with colleagues in health and social care partnerships to avoid people being admitted to hospital unnecessarily and to get them back home as soon as possible. This additional funding will also help us care for more people in the community or at home, if appropriate.”
