WIREDGOV

40 per cent rise in intermediate care beds planned.

A further 200 intermediate care beds in communities are to be created across the country.

Intermediate care beds support older people or those preparing to leave hospital and are part of the government’s plans to develop new models of care built around treating more people in their own communities.

A recent Scottish Government survey shows there are currently 445 such beds in Scotland. However health boards and local authorities will create a further 200 beds by the end of March 2015 – a planned increase of over 40 per cent – thanks to recent government investment.

The announcement comes as figures released by Information Services Division (ISD) show that all health boards have made significant progress against the HEAT target to reduce the use of emergency beds for people aged 75 and over – with a 12.9 per cent decrease in the rate since 2009/10.

The ISD statistics also show that the number of acute hospital beds continue to change seasonally as they are needed by patients.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said:

“Intermediate care beds, provided in community settings, should play a bigger role in our health and safety care, especially in the care of older people or those returning home from hospital.

“By bringing together health and social care, Scotland is already leading the way across the UK in terms of delivering more joined up, coordinated care that older people need.

“We know that more older people are ending up in hospital unnecessarily or staying in hospital too long because they are not getting the support they need to remain or return home.

“Most people want good, local care that is there for them whenever they need it.

“The creation of more intermediate care is an example of how our recent £28 million investment in winter preparations will be used and further shows how the Scottish Government is supporting our health and social care to shifting more services into community settings.

“We are also working with partners on progressing our unique bed planning tool kit, which we will pilot from March next year. This will support boards to continue to ensure there are the right type and number of beds at the right time across the country.

“We want to avoid any unnecessary hospital stays and ensure that a patient’s hospital stay is as short as possible. These statistics show us that Scotland’s health and social care partnerships are already achieving a lot on this – but in the face of delayed discharges we must continue to do more.”

Since August, the Scottish Government has invested £28.2 million across Scotland for winter preparations. This includes £10 million invested in the Winter Resilience Fund, £8.2 million from the Unscheduled Care Action Plan fund to improve the way emergency care operates, as well as £10 million to tackle delays in discharging people from hospital.

Intermediate care bridges the gap between hospital and care at home. It offers patients the rehabilitation, support and time they need to regain their strength before going home. It also allows for social care services to put in place support for the patient when they return home.

Notes To Editors

Link to ISD statistics: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Hospital-Care/Publications/index.asp#1343

Figures on intermediate care beds are from the National Step up / Step Down Survey