Anger at care home ‘ hijack’ for 999 calls
NHS move to keep over-65s out of A&E units
HEALTH Secretary Alex Neil has been accused of ‘hijacking’ voluntary care homes and hospices in a bid to ‘bail out of an A&E crisis’.
The criticism comes after i t emerged that elderly patients who dial 999 will be sent directly to care homes under new plans to ease the pressure on hospital beds.
In one health board area, talks about sending senior citizens to be treated in a hospice are already under way.
The Scottish Government has also told health boards to create ‘step-up beds’ for older patients, a service designed to keep over-65s out of hospital.
In future, a 999 call made concerning old people will result in the patient being assessed by a call handler or paramedics.
If their condition is deemed non life-threatening, they may be taken to a designated local authority care home.
However, critics have hit out at the proposals.
Margaret Watt of the Scot- land Patients Association said: ‘Pensioners are not sheep who can be shifted around.’
Tory health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: ‘Hospices and other care homes are not NHS facilities, with many relying on voluntary donations for the invaluable work they do. They can not, and must not, have their care hijacked by a Scot-
‘Crisis of its own making’
tish Government desperately trying to bail itself out of an A&E crisis of its own making.’
Last week, it emerged that the number of patients having to wait for treatment in A&E is soaring, despite a pledge to see 98 per cent within four hours.
Under the new plans, while some patients will go to community hospitals, it is antici- pated that many more will be sent to care homes.
Local authority care home beds are being made available i n Lanarkshire, Highland, Forth Valley, Tayside and Ayrshire. The move is also being considered in the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway.
NHS Lothian may send patients to St Michael’s Hospital, which mainly provides care to patients at the end stages of serious illness.
Melanie Johnson, director of unscheduled care at NHS Lothian, said: ‘Step-up beds would provide an alternative to acute hospital admission when a patient’s needs can be safely met closer to home.’
A Scottish Government spokesman added: ‘The use of specialist step-up beds is part of a range of intermediate care services aiming to provide safe and effective alternatives.’