Hospital discharge delays come under the spotlight

Members of Falkirk Council’s external scrutiny committee will be hearing about the services delivered by the partnership, with particular emphasis being placed on the problem areas of delayed discharges and readmissions.

Giving people the ability to manage their own health, care and wellbeing and have as much control and choice over the care provided is one of the aims of the partnership.

While the overall delivery of services continues to perform well, there are challenges in relation to managing financial and demographic pressures.

According to the report before the committee, the discharge target is zero delays of over two weeks, but a total of 29 delays of two weeks and over were reported across the partnership area last year.

The report stated: “Delayed discharges present a significant challenge to the partnership particularly at this time of year. Future performance reports will provide further detail on actions being taken.”

Readmission rates were also highlighted in the report with Falkirk displaying a greater rate than the national average. The rate is calculated from the number of readmissions to an acute hospital within 28 days of discharge per 1000 of the area’s population.

Falkirk had a rate of 118 per 1000 population, while the national average is 94.