Rhoda Grant MSP Welcomes New Funding After the Horse Has Bolted

20th January 2015

Speaking about the £100 million extra funding allocated by the Scottish Government to prevent delayed discharge from hospitals nationally, Highlands & Islands MSP and Shadow Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, Rhoda Grant said "Of course I welcome the extra funding set aside for NHS Highland, but it is a case of trying to shut the stable door now that the horse has bolted".

“NHS Highland have been underfunded for years and only recently the Scottish Government gave extra funding to try and give the Board the funding they were entitled to, but deprived off. This lack of funding over the last few years has contributed to the mess we now find ourselves in”.

“The £6.1million allocated to the Highlands over 3 years is actually Argyll & Bute and Highland lumped together. Highland is actually getting £4.31 million which equates to 1.4 million per year”

"I welcome the Government's U-turn on setting aside funding to deal with the community care crisis in the Highlands, like elsewhere in Scotland, which has contributed to the massive increase in delayed discharges. It has taken the NHS to reach crisis point before the Scottish Government have acted, however ring fencing this money will not be a magic wand, and this money is clearly just a drop in the ocean”.

“If we do not have the care packages in place to allow primarily elderly patients to return to their own homes, then hospital beds become a premium resource. What needs to happen is that Health and Social Care has to be properly funded and managed. There needs to be a dramatic increase in trained Carers, and Health Boards thereafter need to work in a joined up manner with Social Work and Care providers to better facilitate care at home".

“It takes time to train staff and set up systems that are efficient and effective. I just don’t know why the Government had to wait until the situation was critical before they were forced to act”.