Fife hospital staff are being “bullied” into getting patients discharged as the region’s bed-blocking crisis continues, it has been claimed.
The pressure put on the health service by a lack of beds is resulting in patients being accommodated in “inappropriate” wards and nurses being hounded by managers to get people sent home, a source told The Courier.
NHS Fife said it was up to a patient’s consultant, not nursing managers, to make any decisions regarding discharge from hospital.
Concerns have been raised that as a result patients could be sent home before they are fit.
The source said, “Bed-blocking is still a daily issue for all wards getting patients that clearly are in inappropriate wards.
“Nursing staff are still being bullied by senior nursing managers to get patients discharged. Why can’t they be moved out to nursing homes, where they can get the level of care they need, and social care can pick up the bill for care as they should.
“Bullying in the health service is well-known and a long-standing problem, and senior nursing management are responsible for most of it.”
Delayed discharge statistics seen by The Courier yesterday differed from previously published figures as they included complex needs cases and adults with incapacity.
They showed that the number of patients awaiting release peaked at 181 in January.
NHS Fife and Fife Council responded to the crisis by putting forward £250,000 each to provide care packages so patients could be sent home.DroppingBy February the bed-blocking figure had dropped to 150 and last month saw it fall further to 113.
However, almost one-third of delayed discharge patients in March (35) had been waiting more than six weeks one more than the previous month. The figure had fallen from 84 in January.
It means NHS Fife is struggling to meet the Scottish Government’s target of no delayed discharges over six weeks.
Councillor Andrew Rodger, also standing as a regional candidate in the Scottish Parliament elections, called on NHS Scotland chief executive Dr Kevin Woods to intervene.
“Staff are under major pressure,” he said. “It’s senior nursing managers, not consultants, that are discharging patients and there is a risk people are being discharged when they are not ready.”
NHS Fife chief executive George Brechin said allegations of bullying were taken “very seriously.”
He said, “We have a dignity at work policy developed in partnership with our trade unions which provides several routes for staff to raise concerns confidentially. We would urge any member of staff with concerns to raise their issues locally, immediately.
“The decision on whether and when any individual is discharged is the responsibility of the patient’s consultant.
“When someone is admitted, the consultant and their team aim to identify an anticipated date of discharge. They then work towards this by putting in place appropriate resources to support treatment and discharge.”
He admitted, “It is correct that there are still a number of people in our hospitals whose discharge is delayed beyond completion of their acute episode of care.”
However, he added, “As a result of the work undertaken in partnership with Fife Council, the number of people remaining unnecessarily in hospital has reduced very considerably over recent weeks.”
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