Call for more health visits

CALLS have been made for fresh investment in health visitors after it emerged the rate of emergency readmissions to hospital was on the rise.

Opposition politicians said if health boards such as NHS Lothian were to continue cutting the average length of stay in hospital, the infrastructure had to be there to support it.

Conservative public health spokeswoman Nanette Milne pointed to recently released figures showing emergency readmissions had increased by almost half across Scotland.

She said a 20 million investment was needed.

She said: "Of course a number of these cases will be emergencies that must be treated but we have to do what we can to ease the burden."