Ever-growing demand as pressure mounts on NHS

Healthcare: New report flags up increased challenges in the north-east

Demand for health services across Scotland is at an “all-time high” and the pressures will only increase, a report has warned.

Papers to be presented to the Aberdeen Health and Social Care Partnership (AHSCP) – a collaborative body including the NHS, council and charities – will next week detail the level of challenges faced.

The report says that, with an ageing population, demand for health services is already at an “all-time

“People are living longer and often have more complex needs”

high” and that the cost of agency and locum staffing in the north and north-east is significantly higher than the rest of the country.

Vacancy rates for consultants, nurses and other health professionals are also rising, with NHS Grampian having 9.1% of posts unfilled.

The report states: “Supplementary staffing is increasing due to the challenges around recruitment and retention, sickness absence and pressures to meet waiting time targets and other service pressures and is a significant cost pressure.

“There is a significant variation in spend across Scotland with the north region highest at £43 per 1,000 population compared to £27 and £23 per 1,000 population in the east and west of Scotland respectively.

“Some boards have managed to reduce their costs, but this remains a challenge in a number of areas, including Grampian.”

One area in which there have been successes is in regards to drug costs, which are reducing as health bosses look for generic variants.

New collaboration between health and council bosses in areas such as social care is also said to be bringing down costs.

Earlier this month The Press and Journal revealed that crumbling hospitals in the north and north-east need more than £1 billion worth of repair work.

Hospitals in the area now contain 66% of all the “high-risk” problems identified at health service buildings across Scotland.

Most of the backlog is at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Raigmore Hospital in Inverness and Ninewells, Dundee.

North-east Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald, convener of Holyrood’s health and sport committee, said the committee had recommended three major strategies to ensure health services continued at the same level in the future.

He said more technology should be introduced to allow easy access to patient medical records, and he called for more integration between the NHS and councils with a further emphasis on prevention rather than cure.

He said: “A lot of things need to happen to ensure the health service can keep delivering the level of services that people are entitled to expect.

“People are living longer and when they do reach the end of their lives they often have more complex health care needs. This trend is irreversible.

“There is a lot that the government is already doing but there are still some areas that progress could be made in.”

HEALTHY OUTLOOK?: There are growing concerns in the north and north-east over increasing demand and recruitment shortfalls in the NHS