The cost of living crisis is set to cripple the NHS this winter due to an increase in poverty-related hospital admissions, a senior doctor has warned.
Scotland’s hospitals are already facing a double whammy with an expected surge in flu cases and a return of Covid in vulnerable groups.
Now the medical director of Scotland’s largest health board has warned that poverty and freezing homes caused by soaring bills will add another burden to the under-pressure health service.
Dr Jennifer Armstrong, medical director of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said the cost of living crisis is “a real worry for everybody”.
She added: “If you live in a cold house you are more likely to suffer from falls, you are more likely to have asthma and if you have uncertainty of financial situations that puts a demand on mental heath services and certainly in places like Glasgow & Clyde that will have a major impact.
“There is evidence across the UK that when you are cold and hungry it can impact on your health. At the moment we are uncertain what that will be but there will be an impact.
“We have got to get a grip on what we are offering for winter and make as much preparation as we can.” Dr Armstrong said that NHSGGC was trying to work with patients to make sure they could access all the assistance available to them.
She called on the board to do its “absolute maximum” in terms of “pointing people” to benefits. Dr Armstrong also claimed patients’ recovery times could be hit by soaring energy bills.
She said the board was “concerned” about sending patients back to cold homes, adding: “We have been doing work to see how they can rapidly access some of those services to make sure people do get home in a timely fashion.”
Warning of the impact on health services this winter if another wave of coronavirus hits, Dr Armstrong said: “There may have to be times when we step down services if we see large Covid surges.
“We are planning for the worst. That doesn’t mean the worst will happen but we are doing our best to prepare for that.” Dr Armstrong issued her warning at a board meeting of NHSGGC, Scotland’s largest, this week.
Glasgow councillor Chris Cunningham, who serves on the board, spoke out about the issues. He said: “We are looking at a perfect storm.”
Another member, Renfrewshire councillor Jacqueline Cameron, said the impact on the NHS of the cost of living crisis was “an eye-opener for me”.
She said she was worried about more falls in elderly people, heart attacks and strokes, adding: “I am also concerned it may impact on discharges because people going into cold homes is an issue.”
She said her council was creating safe space programmes for people to meet and stay warm but admitted it was “a sticking plaster.”
NHSGGC has been working to adjust its winter plan to take account of the new threats to the health service. The vaccination programme and recruitment of new staff have been stepped up.
Patients have been asked to stay out of A&E if possible and asked “to leave hospital as soon as they can” to ease delayed discharge problems.
The impact of the cost of living crisis on the NHS prompted calls for action from MSPs.
Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson, Jackie Baillie, said: “Delays at A&E, increased waiting times for diagnosis and treatment and delayed discharge are all going to get worse over the winter period.
“There is another serious aggravating factor and that is the impact of the cost of living crisis. People are making choices between heating and eating and this has a direct impact on their health.
“The Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf, has been warned time and again by experts about the scale of the challenge that the NHS faces and concerns about patient safety. He needs to act urgently or people will die needlessly this winter.”
Yousaf said he expected this winter to be “one of the most difficult the NHS has faced” because of the impact of the pandemic and the likely resurgence of flu.
He said his £600million health and care plan for winter was aiming to “take on the challenges we know we face” and 1000 new NHS staff were being recruited from overseas and measures taken to retain current staff, including the pay rise currently on offer.
He admitted A&E performance “is not where I want it to be” but said even with counter-measures this winter would be “very difficult”.
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