Health chiefs pledge £4.5m ‘emergency’ fund
● Money allocated in a bid to relieve ongoing care crisis in Edinburgh
One of Scotland’s largest councils has allocated a £4.5 million emergency fund to tackle the “immediate pressure” caused by the delayed discharge of patients in hospital waiting on a care package.
Edinburgh council has reacted to a leaked e-mail seen by the Scotsman last week that revealed plans to send patients who are currently bed blocking home from hospital without an appropriate care package in place.
The Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board – responsible for providing health and social care in the capital – has come under fire after admitting the city regularly has the highest number of delayed discharges in Scotland.
They have pledged the one-off allocation to focus on reducing the backlog of assessments, care reviews,
0 Delays in discharging patients in Edinburgh could be eased after the announcement of a new £4.5m funding package and delayed discharges. At present there are 1,913 people waiting for an assessment, of whom 1,100 had no involvement from health care professionals in the last year.
The board is also consider- ing a one-off spend on additional care home placements and plan to reduce the backlog over the next seven months.
Cllr Ricky Henderson, who chairs the board, said: “The agreement, as well as the report on the wider improvement programme, paints a clear picture of where the service is right now and the immediate steps we need to take.
“For the Partnership to achieve long-term sustainability of health and social care services in the city, the immediate pressures from the backlog of demand, the service capacity limitations and the extreme pressures on acute services from people delayed in hospital must be addressed.”
Shadow health secretary Miles Briggs, said he was “very pleased” that the board has acknowledge that something needs to be done.
He added: “I am however wary that the Partnership had proposed £3m in cuts to health and social care in their latest budget and I would welcome the assurance they do not plan to go ahead with these cuts.”
Scottish Labour MSP Daniel Johnson said: “Delayed discharge is a national problem that must be addressed. The Scottish Government promised to abolish it, but it continues to place a huge toll on our public services.
“It is also worth recognising that ultimately, the council could do so much more if they were given the resources.
“On that score, last week’s budget has failed – delivering a 2 per cent cut to councils across Scotland. The government need to put their money where their mouth is, and deliver a progressive budget that reverses the cuts.”