Emergency declared for health and social care

THE failing health and social care system in Dumfries and Galloway needs to be ripped up and replaced in order to save elderly people from dying needlessly in hospital.

This was the plea last week from one councillor as Dumfries and Galloway Council officially declared a health and social care emergency in the region.

With a £58 million funding shortfall for health and social care locally, both NHS and council chiefs are faced with making unthinkable cuts at a time when services are already buckling under demand.

Demand for emergency care is rising, there are ongoing bed blocking issues in hospital, fewer care home places are available, and there are a lack of care-at-home packages in the community for an ageing population.

One solution councillors want to see explored is the potential use of suitable, patient-friendly hotels in the region to ease delayed discharges from hospital.

Describing the situation as a “social crisis”, Castle Douglas and Crocketford Councillor Pauline Drysdale tabled a motion at last week’s full council meeting - above - calling for a health and social care emergency to be announced.

Seconded by Annandale North Councillor Lynne Davis, they demanded that government ministers finally take notice of the seriousness of the situation here.

Councillor Drysdale explained how she has been in discussions with Gareth Marr, the chief officer of Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership.

She said: “We looked at different models of working, and it looks like we could present another model of care in Dumfries and Galloway.

“We have the ability to do that. It would save a substantial amount of money – and offer patients ready to be re-enabled and rehabilitated a better service, much like the health and social care board and the IJB (Integration Joint Board) have done with Mountainhall and are planning to do with the Galloway Hospital.

“So there are different and more dynamic and better ways of working that reduce travel and in fact get people home more quickly – and stop them dying in hospitals after they are better but sitting in a single room waiting to be discharged.

“They then become unwell again, and as we know the infection rates are quite high and there are other issues to do with staying in hospital when you should be getting home.”

The Conservatives councillor argued that transformation of health and social care in the region is “not optional, it is essential.”

She explained that this region has unique needs due to an ageing population and its rural nature.

The Conservatives and Labour Group had both submitted similar motions calling for a health and social care emergency declaration, and agreed to join forces by merging their demands.

Lochar Councillor Linda Dorward, of the Labour Group, said: “We’re facing a half billion shortfall in funding from the Scottish Government for IJBs across Scotland, and from our perspective this is not just a lack of fiscal prudence but a lack of compassion for our most vulnerable citizens.”

Councillors agreed the motion, which called for alternative, more affordable and patient friendly options for re-enablement/step down care to be investigated.

Local hotels with disabled friendly access and adaptations have already been scoped and the motion called on the IJB and health and social care leaders to commission work explore these alternatives as a matter of emergency.

Council leader Stephen Thompson has also been instructed to write to the Scottish Government seeking an urgent review of the National Resource Allocation Committee’s formula for distributing most of the NHS budget.

Work will also be done to further develop local training pathways to help address recruitment and retention problems in the social care workforce.