This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Additional funding for delayed discharge
28/10/2002
NHS Board and local authority partnerships are to
receive an additional £30m over the next three years from
Scotland's budget to tackle delayed discharges - provided
they meet existing local targets set by the Executive. This
marks an increase of £10m a year, on top of existing
funding levels.
Announcing the additional funding, Deputy Health
Minister Frank McAveety, said the Executive continued to
see tackling delayed discharge as a long term, high
priority and was determined to recognise and reward good
practice and innovative approaches to addressing this
problem. However, he wanted to see evidence of progress by
each partnership before further funding was released.
Mr McAveety said:
"Tackling delayed discharges is one of the most
important challenges facing the NHS and other local
authorities. Why should patients, particularly older
people, be forced to remain in hospital longer than is
necessary when they should be receiving more appropriate
care in the community?
"That is why we have placed great emphasis on addressing
this issue, including drawing up the Delayed Discharge
Action Plan and provision of an additional £20m this year.
It is also why in the past month we have announced the
creation of a delayed discharge Learning Network and Good
Practice Resource to support partnerships in their on-going
efforts to address this problem.
"With this additional funding in place and extra support
available, it is now time to deliver real results -
particularly for the sake of older people stuck in
hospital. If the targets set for each partnership are not
met by April 2003, high level support teams will be sent in
to those areas to help get their plans back on track and
their share of the additional funding I am announcing today
will be held back until we are satisfied that it will
achieve the required results."
NHS Board/LA partnerships received an additional £20m
from the Health consequentials in 2002-3 for delayed
discharge. They are required to use this funding,
distributed on an Arbuthnott basis, to deliver specific
targets set by the Executive.
The additional funding announced today from Scotland's
Budget will be tied to new targets from April 2003 onwards.
Where partnerships have failed to meet their April 2002 -
April 2003 targets, high level support teams will be sent
in to those areas and their share of this further funding
will be held back until their plans are back on track.
The Learning Network announced earlier this month will
provide a forum for senior staff working in health, housing
and social services to learn about initiatives which have
been effective in other parts of the country. In
conjunction, the good practice resource will hold examples
of approaches which have helped improve the patient's
experience of care, ensuring
unnecessary delays do not occur.
Delayed discharge statistics are published collected and
published on a quarterly basis by the Information and
Statistics Division (ISD) of the Common Services Agency of
NHSScotland The last census was conducted on 15 July 2002,
with the results published on 30 September. The next set of
census data will be published at the end of December.