Extra investment in emergency care

A further £9 million will be invested to reduce waiting times in accident and emergency departments this year, Health Secretary Shona Robison has announced.

The funding will help health and integration boards focus on key priorities, including:

• A full roll out of ‘daily dynamic discharge’ – a new planning model for reducing bed blocking and ensuring patients are discharged on time.
• Reducing inappropriate length of stay in hospital, particularly over weekends.
• Maximising appropriate discharges from hospital before noon, with weekend discharge rates in line with weekdays.
• Closer working with the integrated joint boards, which are now responsible for key elements of planning of unscheduled care.  

Speaking to an audience of NHS and social care professionals from across Scotland in Edinburgh, Ms Robison explained how the funding would be used to further roll out the Scottish Government’s Six Essential Actions to Improve Unscheduled Care.

Ms Robison said:

“Scotland’s core A&Es have been the best performing in the UK for more than two years and we have already put record investment and increased staffing in our hospitals to achieve long-term, sustainable improvements.

“However, we are determined to continue to improve and bring waiting times down further. This additional funding will allow us to continue this work.

“Our action plan for unscheduled care has driven changes, speeding up the flow of patients and reducing delayed discharge. This is not just about improving systems in hospitals, but about taking advantage of health and social care integration to ensure better links to community services.”

Background

A series of case studies are available showing how NHS boards have benefitted from implementing the Six Essential Actions to Improve Unscheduled Care:

• NHS Dumfries and Galloway: Balancing capacity with demand at D&G Royal Infirmary
• NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde: Getting it right one ward at a time
• NHS Highland: Testing the daily dynamic discharge approach in the community
• NHS Lothian: Testing the daily dynamic discharge approach within St John’s Hospital