Covid patients to be treated at home to free up hospital beds

PATIENTS with Covid are to be treated at home as part of a desperate bid to free up hospital beds.

As the health service buckles under growing pressure, the Scottish Government is spending £500,000 on 25,000 home monitoring devices for those with coronavirus and other illnesses, including pneumonia.

Covid patients will also be given antiviral tablets to take at home.

The move was announced yesterday as the NHS was braced for Omicron cases to peak in the coming weeks.

But last night critics warned that patients must not be sent home from hospital unless their condition could be managed safely.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane welcomed measures to alleviate pressure on his ‘completely overwhelmed’ health service colleagues.

He added, however: ‘It is on the SNP’s watch that many staff have been pushed beyond breaking point.

‘This new funding cannot mean any patient is sent home inappropriately and potentially stretch the capabilities of their loved ones.’

It comes as the deepening crisis was highlighted by new Public Health Scotland figures showing only 72 per cent of A&E patients were seen within four hours.

In the week ending January 2, 6,198 had to wait more than four hours, while 299 waited longer than 12 hours. There were 46,894 days spent in hospital as a result of delayed discharge in November 2021 – a 40 per cent increase on November 2020.

The number of planned operations performed across Scotland during November 2021 was 20,587. This was an increase of 23 per cent from the previous month but 30.8 per cent down on November 2019.

Scottish Labour health spokesman Jackie Baillie said Scotland’s NHS was in crisis ‘with lives now on the line due to the failures of the SNP Government’.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: ‘Treating more people who previously may have been admitted to hospital at home with antivirals and suitable support is essential to free up capacity in hospitals.’