Health Secretary Neil Gray questioned about £154m cost of delayed discharge in Highlands as Labour MSP Rhoda Grant was told £200m to be spent on the issue
Health secretary Neil Gray says £200 million will be invested to tackle delayed discharge as Labour MSP Rhoda Grant sought answers over the Highlands and Islands £154 million hospital bill.
Scottish Labour revealed that in the last 10 years delayed discharge cost the Highlands and Islands area £153,939,479 and more than five million bed days lost because hospitals were unable to clear beds occupied by patients medically fit to leave.
Mrs Grant earlier said: “The SNP has had 17 years to fix our broken social care system, but instead they have wasted a further £30 million on a failed National Care Service Bill that did not pay for a single extra carer.”
She went on to raise the issue in Holyrood and asked how the Scottish Government “is dealing with delayed discharge from hospitals in the Highlands and Islands?” with Mr Gray answering weekly collaborative meetings and more planned funding.
The health secretary said that he, health minister Maree Todd who is also a Highland MSP along with senior officials across government are “heavily engaged” looking at “areas that are facing the most significant challenge with regards to delayed discharge”.
That is because if a care home closes and a patient needs a care package but one is not available whether that is in a care home or through care at home then they have to remain in hospital.
He conceded that “Highland is absolutely at the top of that” with interventions particularly with care home closures that are one of the main factors that cause delayed discharge.
Mr Gray said: “We've been working with them around how we can support the whole system to respond and that includes providing the support to maintain some care home provision that would otherwise have been put to closure.
“That is in evidence in the most part that we've engaged on previously and there are further interventions that we're working with them on that I hope will help to see the situation improve as we are starting to see in terms of the data.”
He added: “And our planned budget for 2025-26 will invest the further £200 million to reduce waiting list backlogs, improve capacity, remove barriers which keep some people in hospital longer than is necessary”.