£100 million funding in the 2025-26 Budget to tackle delayed
discharge will make Hospital at Home the ‘biggest hospital in the
country', if approved by Parliament
The service, which offers a safe alternative to admission to
an acute hospital, will grow to 2,000 beds by December 2026,
alleviating pressure on health and social care settings.
The money will also ensure all A&E departments in Scotland
have frailty units directly linked to community care settings,
with an increased focus on collaborative working to identify
ways to improve patient experience.
It is part of an overall £200 million package to clear the
majority of new outpatient and treatment time patient waits and
renew the NHS.
Social Care Minister visited Queen Margaret Hospital
in Dunfermline to outline a package of measures to
reduce delayed discharge and to learn about other services
that can be replicated across Scotland, such as Discharge to
Assess that has been successful in Fife.
Ms Todd said:
“Reducing delayed discharges is a key priority for the Scottish
Government and the Budget we published last week will throw the
weight of the government behind NHS improvement.
“More than 96% of all hospital discharges happen without delay
but we are working with local health partners and local
government to find solutions for those that don't and address the
variation we are seeing across Scotland. Our Budget for 2025-26,
if approved by Parliament, will provide £200 million to help
clear waiting list backlogs, improve capacity and remove
blockages that keep some patients in hospital longer than
necessary.
“Once someone has been assessed as well enough to be discharged
from hospital, the best place for them to be is at home,
supported by a bespoke care package. This can be delivered by
services for older people such as Hospital at Home, and evidence
shows that those benefitting from it are more likely to avoid
hospital or care home stays for up to six months after an acute
illness.
“We want to expand that service to make it the ‘biggest hospital
in Scotland', providing the very best care, in the comfort of a
patient's own home or home-like setting.
“We have a plan to renew our NHS and the Budget's record funding
for the health service will ensure that 150,000 extra patients
are treated, deliver additional support for GPs, and invest in
new hospitals at Belford and Monklands.
“We want to improve our NHS, but to do that Parliament must
approve our Budget Bill to unlock investment to drive long-term
and lasting improvements – and the healthier population that we
all want to see. The NHS needs Parliament to unite behind
this Budget.”
Background
- As part of a record £21 billion investment in health and
social care, the draft Scottish Budget for 2025-26, includes more
than £2 billion for social care and integration, exceeding our
target to increase funding by 25% by over £350 million
- Hospital at Home it was the equivalent eighth largest
hospital for older people emergency inpatients, according to recent
figures from Health Improvement Scotland.
- The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow is
currently the biggest hospital for bed capacity in Scotland, with
Public Health Scotland
data in November showing it had, on average, 1,581 staffed
beds from April to June 2024.
- Discharge to Assess forms part of the best practice
approaches that we want all local areas to adopt. The British Red
Cross-run Discharge to Assess initiative in Fife an innovative
example of how partnership working can alleviate pressures on
acute settings.
