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Shona Robison pledges action to improve flow of patients through hospitals

The new Health Secretary, Shona Robison, today said that working to reduce the numbers of people waiting to be discharged from hospital would be one of her top priorities going forward.

Her comments follow figures published today which show that delayed discharge continues to present challenges for the NHS.

Official statistics show that at the October 2014 census, 321 patients were delayed over four weeks, of which approximately three quarters were aged over 75.

Reacting to the statistics, Ms Robison said that reducing delayed discharge will not only benefit delayed patients but will also ease pressures across the system, including reducing waiting times in A&E.

Ms Robison said:

“Reducing delayed discharge and tackling its impact on services is something I will take forward as an absolute key priority.

“That is because reducing delayed discharge not only helps individual patients, who benefit from getting home or to a homely setting as quickly as possible, but also eases pressure across the system – including in A&E.

“Although delayed discharge has been reduced by two thirds under this Government, these figures show that there is still much to do.

“Working closely with local authorities, the NHS must reduce the number of people waiting in hospital for appropriate care services to be arranged in the community. A taskforce has been set up with COSLA to make this happen.

“This builds on the significant progress made to devise new and innovative ways to improve the flow of patients through health and care services. We will continue to support this work, together with our partners in the NHS and local government, to reshape the health and social care system as we work towards integration coming into force in April next year.

“In August, this government committed an addition £5 million to support the transition to integrated health and social care and improve patient flow through a number of hospitals and community services. This investment will help improve the journey of many patients through hospital and back home supported by appropriate care services so they can leave hospital as soon as they are able.”

Statistics also published today show that Scotland has still to meet its target of treating 95 per cent of patients in A&E within four hours. Figures show that in July, August and September of this year, health boards achieved 94.6 per cent, 93.2 per cent and 93.5 per cent respectively.

There were more A&E attendances (142,622) in September 2014 than in any September since comparable reporting began in 2007. There were also more admissions (33,056) to hospital for patients attending A&E in September 2014 than in any September since comparable reporting began in 2010.

Ms Robison added: “We have released £8.2 million this year from the Unscheduled Care Action Plan fund to reduce pressure on frontline services and improve performance across Scotland’s hospitals – bringing our total additional investment this year alone close to over £13 million to support improvements in services.”

Notes To Editors

Background

Examples of action being taken to improve flow through hospitals:

• The Scottish Government has pioneered the development of the ‘day of care surveys’ methodology. These surveys reveal the reasons why patients are delayed in hospital and help identify opportunities to improve patient flow with local ownership. Borders General are actively using the out-put to challenge and change services and are reporting progress via the National Unscheduled Care Programme to share learning and progress.
• The Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow are leading the way in criteria led discharge. This allows a delegated senior nurse, AHP or junior Doctor to discharge a patient when an agreed set of parameters are met and is not dependent on the timing of consultant ward rounds. Again the learning from this is being shared across Scotland.
• The Frail Older Person’s Pathway team at Kilmarnock’s Crosshouse Hospital is the only service of its kind in Scotland and provides a rapid, yet holistic, assessment of needs, providing alternatives to acute hospital admission and including carers and families in the decision-making process. Results have shown an increased use of alternatives to hospital admission and reduced length of stay for those who are admitted.

The number of patients delayed over four weeks at the October 2014 census was 321, compared with 830 in July 2006.

The number of patients delayed over six weeks at the October 2014 census was 215, compared with 627 in July 2006.

The full statistical publication is available on the ISD Scotland website: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Health-and-Social-Community-Care/Publications/index.asp#1328