Tories vow to use care home beds to tackle hospital delayed discharge problem

The Scottish Conservatives have unveiled plans that would see patients moved from hospital into a care home within 48 hours of them being declared fit to leave.

Tory health spokesperson Dr Sandesh Gulhane said his party had a “bold, practical plan” to tackle the problem of delayed discharge in the NHS.

The party said it would secure up to 600, short-term, care home beds in pilot areas, with funding to be boosted for councils in areas that opt into the scheme.

Patients who are declared well enough to leave hospital could then be moved to these care home beds within 48 hours – freeing up hospital beds.

The Tories said the scheme would only be piloted in council areas where local authorities have opted in.

But Dr Gulhane insisted that the SNP’s failure to tackle the problem of delayed discharge was a “dereliction of duty”.

He added: “We can’t ignore this crisis any longer. Bold action is needed to reduce the pressure of our NHS and save taxpayers’ money.”

His comments came days after figures from Public Health Scotland showed the problem, also known as bed blocking, increased in October, with the number of people having their discharge delayed rising from 1,953 in September to 1,962.

Referring back to a commitment made by then health secretary Shona Robison, in 2015, to eradicate the problem, Dr Gulhane said: “SNP ministers promised to eradicate delayed discharge a decade ago but, on their watch, it’s at a record high – with 720,000 bed-days lost last year alone.”

Calling for action from the current First Minister, the Tory added: “John Swinney should be throwing the kitchen at sink at this crisis.”

But he complained that “instead of focusing on our overstretched health service” the SNP leader was “once again talking up his independence obsession”.

Dr Gulhane said: “While he fixates over the constitution, we’re putting forward a bold, practical plan to cut delayed discharge, free up desperately needed hospital capacity and bring down waiting times.

“Our Fast Track to Care proposal would ensure patients are moved into care homes within 48 hours of being declared fit for discharge — by securing up to 600, short-term, care home beds in pilot areas and boosting funding for councils that opt in.”

Health Secretary Neil Gray said however that the Scottish Government has a “clear plan to reduce delayed discharge” with more than £200 million being invested in tackling waiting list backlogs, improving capacity and removing blockages that can keep patients in hospital longer than they need to be.

Mr Gray stated: “Improving patient flow is a top priority, and a key commitment that we’ve successfully delivered across all NHS boards are our frailty service which provides specialist, multidisciplinary assessment and care for older patients, where required, to accelerate early discharge, reduce delays, and shorten hospital stays.

“This helps patients recover more quickly, return home sooner and frees up hospital capacity.

“We are seeing reductions in delayed discharge in some councils in recent months and are working closely with all health boards and local authorities to drive forward improvements.”