Fife Labour leader Alex Rowley and leading health campaigner Councillor Andrew Rodger have joined forces to call for full transparency of budgets and levels of waiting times in Fife for people caught up in hospitals due to a lack of funding and resources in the community. This is commonly known as delayed discharge where people are able to be discharged but are unable to do so due to a lack of support in the community or a care home place to go to. The councillors are also calling for a greater level of joint working and sharing of resources and have written to all Fife MSPs calling for them to get involved.
The councillors claim that the numbers of people who are ‘trapped’ in hospital as a result of insufficient funding and community resources is unacceptable. Their claim was backed up this week by a report that went to the NHS Fife Board setting out the strategy for preparing for the winter. The report warned that a significant risk for NHS Fife is “the number of delayed discharges which are already the highest in Scotland and will increase further in the run up to winter”. This according to the reports author John Wilson, chief executive NHS Fife operations division will result an “inadequate bed capacity across the system to maintain patient flow leading to an inability to manage emergency admissions, sustain the 4 hour A&E standard and failure to maintain the agreed elective activity levels and achieve inpatient and day case waiting time targets”.
Mr Rowley said; “It will come as no surprise to patients and their families who have had such experiences that NHS Fife are stating publicly that we have the worst delayed discharge of any authority in Scotland. For these are the people that are having to go through the weekly routine of hope that they will get funding to get out of hospital and then suffer the great disappointment when they are told not this week. It is not the way that a society should treat its old and we need a greater transparency around this issue so that the general public can get a grasp of the level of problem that exists”.
“Most people will grow old and we don’t know who will need care and support and therefore we all have a vested interest for our families and for our communities in getting this sorted for as it stands just now it is simply not good enough. I have had two families in my own ward experience this in the last few months so I assume this can be multiplied across Fife and it is not a good experience for the families and for the individuals concerned to be trapped in hospital when that is probably the worst place to be. If this is the problems we are having before the cuts bite then we need to protect these services and the best way to do this is through full disclosure of budgets and issues”.
Cllr Andrew Rodger said: I have highlighted the situation for months I said the through out Scotland delayed discharges were up by 20% from the previous year in our elderly occupying hospital beds around delayed discharges, our elderly cannot be caught up in a game of chess between our hospitals and council services, they deserve better. Elderly patients are also subject to being boarded from ward to ward which is not good clinical practice as they await discharge.This week I visited a family who were told by there doctor “do you realise how hard it is to get a patient into hospital nowadays” and this before the winter is upon us. Re-design of services is the way forward as Senior Managers will tell you in both health and social work and I agree, as long as it is seamless and there are no gaps in service as you re-design .
“I believe you can drive a bus through the gaps in service at the moment and the people that are on the bus are our elderly. We need to take a good look at health and social work structures and see were we can make major savings which would go to the front line, if our least able in society are to be looked after with dignity. As we approach Remembrance Sunday we need to reflect and note the contribution the elderly played in giving us a good life it is about time we returned that contribution in giving them the same.
The councillors are seeking meetings with NHS Fife Chairman Professor Jim McGoldrick and social work bosses to discuss their concerns and say they will publish more detail information following the meetings. They have also written to Fife’s 5 first past the post MSPs and 7 list MSPs asking them to examine why Fife has the highest delayed discharges in Scotland and asking that they look at why there is not a more joined up approach between health and social work services.
For Information………..
Below is direct par from the attached report stating Fife is worst in Scotland
The most significant risks for NHS Fife are: -
The number of delayed discharges which are already the
highest in Scotland will increase further in the run up to
winter with the result that there will be inadequate bed
capacity across the system to maintain patient flow leading
to an inability to manage emergency admissions, sustain
the 4 hour A&E standard and failure to maintain the agreed
elective activity levels and achieve inpatient and day case
waiting time targets.
Inability to create sufficient capacity in community services
and fund care home places in addition to usual purchasing
levels at a rate which meets demand with the result that
we are unable to prevent admission, place patients in the
most appropriate care setting and achieve best outcomes
for service users
