25 Apr 2013

RCPE Press Release

25 April 2012

***FOR IMMEDIATE USE***

RCPE WELCOMES SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT ACTION TO END HOSPITAL BED CUTS

Commenting on a report in this morning’s The Herald newspaper [1] that the Scottish Government would appear to have recognised the need to stop reducing the number of hospital beds in Scotland, Dr Neil Dewhurst, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said,

“In recent years the number of acute medical beds in Scottish hospitals has been reduced at a time when hospital admissions have been increasing and based on the false assumption that specialised medical care could easily be transferred from hospitals into the community. This has placed considerable, and unnecessary, pressure on hospital services in the NHS and compromised the quality of care provided to patients.

“Having repeatedly highlighted concerns to the Scottish Government about the adverse impact on patients arising from cuts in bed numbers, we greatly welcome the comments made by the Cabinet Secretary in his speech to the UNISON conference and the apparent recognition that hospital services and bed numbers cannot be cut any further. We urge the Scottish Government to confirm this as a policy decision and look forward to working with them in developing more informed health policy which will benefit Scottish hospital patients”.

ENDS

Contact: Graeme McAlister on 0131-247-3693 or 07733-263453

Notes to Editors

[1] ‘No more hospital bed cuts signals minister’, The Herald, 25 April 2013
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/no-more-hospital-bed-cuts-signals-minister.20904184

[2] The RCPE has repeatedly highlighted concerns to the Scottish Government about the impact of reducing acute medical beds and the related adverse effects on patients -

  • In April 2012 the RCPE warned that the Scottish Government’s policy of attempting to shift more care from hospitals into the community was based upon false assumptions and myths regarding the levels of inappropriate admissions in Scottish hospitals
  • In June 2012 the RCPE published a survey which showed that the boarding out of patients to other hospital wards, due to bed shortages, had become a year-round phenomenon in Scottish hospitals and was resulting in reduced quality of care for patients
  • In December 2012 the Scottish Government and RCPE announced a new joint action plan to tackle boarding in Scottish hospitals in response to RCPE concerns
  • In February 2013 the RCPE published a response to the Mid Staffordshire Inquiry which highlighted the ongoing problems in Scottish hospitals and warned that the contributing circumstances have the potential for these events to occur in any hospital in Scotland or the UK
  • In March 2013, and following reports of 124% bed occupancy in Fife and 101% in Lothian, the RCPE highlighted that the boarding out of medical patients to other wards due to bed shortages, is becoming one of the main causes of the spread of norovirus in hospitals