Sturgeon plans shake-up to improve care for elderly

The NHS and local authorities will share responsibility for care for the elderly to end the practice of budgets being shunted between departments.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said community health partnerships will be replaced by health and social care partnerships, to be the responsibility of both the NHS and councils.

The Scottish Government says it is concerned about the practice of “cost-shunting”, where disputes arise between NHS boards and local authorities over who should pay for the care of older people. The practice has seen people held up in hospital beds until the disputes are resolved.

Ms Sturgeon said: “There is too much inconsistency in the quality of care for adults and older people across Scotland. There is too much variation in the level of resources invested in care locally by health boards and local authorities, and in the outcomes that those resources achieve.

“Too many people are unnecessarily admitted to hospital or delayed there when they are clinically ready to leave hospital. And for too many people, the experience of moving between health and social care services is not smooth enough.”

She added: “We will introduce legislation to bring about a radical transformation of community health partnerships.

“[They] will be replaced by health and social care partnerships which will be the joint and equal responsibility of the NHS and local government.”