Fife’s health and council chiefs held crunch talks with the Scottish Government as they continued their efforts to prevent a winter crisis.
Officials met health secretary Shona Robison to discuss how a radical plan to cut unnecessary admissions and delayed discharges should be funded.
It follows a warning that patients at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital were put at risk last winter when medical staff were forced to open extra wards to cope with demand.
The two bodies are in the process of pulling together details of the proposal, which is expected to result in 100 fewer patients being admitted to hospital every week.
Under the new arrangement, more people would be assessed as they arrive at hospital and, if appropriate, care arranged for them at home or in the community.
The assessment of people considered medically fit for discharge will also be beefed up.
Fife Council has previously indicated it is relying on the health board to hand over £1.4 million to pay for the extra community places crucial to making the plan work.
NHS Fife declined to comment on the meeting when approached by The Courier.
But council leader David Ross described it as useful.
“It was about the very challenging issue of winter planning and delayed discharges,” he said.
“Our officers are working with NHS Fife and civil servants to look at how we address some of the challenges facing us and how we resource it.”
Professor Scott McLean, director of acute services with NHS Fife, said at a recent board meeting that there had been significant concerns last year around the quality of care provided to patients.
“This year we want to do something different,” he said.
“Rather than create extra space to put people into, we’re going to change how we process people at the very front end of the hospital.
“This, we believe, is the best option to get us through the winter.”