Critics hit out at hospital readmissions despite drop

LOTHIAN health chiefs have succeeded in bringing down the number of patients rushed back into hospital within a month of treatment – but critics say there are still far too many cases.

Around 12,000 people were readmitted as an emergency last year, which has led to fears medics are releasing patients too early in order to meet waiting times targets.

Over five years, the number of readmissions has risen by more than 2000, a rise repeated across Scotland. But last year NHS Lothian began to see an improvement in those figures.

Health chiefs also said incidents were more readily recorded as an "emergency" in the Lothians compared to other health boards, which would artificially inflate the numbers.

NHS Lothian is one of the best performing health boards in Scotland on waiting times for a variety of illnesses, but there is still extreme pressure to improve.

One source told the Evening News: "It's more of a priority now and in the last couple of years than it ever has been.

"The very top guys are under real pressure from the government to hit the targets they are set, and in turn they push that onto the managers.

"The message comes right through and freeing up beds is very much a priority. No-one's ever said to get people out before they are ready, but if you look at the average amount of time a patient spends in hospital it has come down quite noticeably over the years."

NHS Lothian medical director Dr Charles Swainson said there was never any question of a patient being released too early, saying: "Emergency re-admission rates appear to be falling in NHS Lothian. We do record cases differently in Lothian, meaning that the numbers reported are higher than they should be because more cases are classed as an emergency than in other boards.

"Patients are only released home when they are clinically fit to do so."

The figures emerged following a parliamentary question by the Liberal Democrat's health spokesman Ross Finnie, who said he hoped the improving waiting times weren't directly linked to readmission rate.

Margaret Watt, chairwoman of the Scotland Patients Association, said: "It's all very well meeting waiting times targets but this is the price you pay.Sometimes people just need that bit more time in hospital to get back on their feet, and they aren't getting this."