Perth and Kinross health chiefs are anticipating a "more challenging" winter due to an increase in demand across all health and social care services.
A £9.8 million winter plan will be presented to the Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board (IJB) on Wednesday.
The 2022/23 plan seeks to ensure residents get the "right care, at the right time, in the right place".
As health and social care services continue to recover from COVID, they are also preparing for any resurgence of COVID or other seasonal viruses.
On Wednesday, December 14 members of the Perth and Kinross IJB will be updated on the plan to manage expected winter pressures.
The report states Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership (PKHSCP) is forecast to spend £9.8 million "to ensure the necessary capacity, flow and winter resilience across the system".
It is part of the overarching Tayside Winter Plan produced in collaboration with the Health and Social Care Partnerships of Angus and Dundee, the Scottish Ambulance Service and other key stakeholders.
The plan aims to ensure early intervention and "minimise potential disruption to services". It seeks to avoid unnecessary admissions to hospital and ensure patients who are admitted are discharged as soon as they are ready.
A key part of the plan is not just to increase resources within services but to "optimise" communication and relationships to "ensure" the "best use" of additional resources.
The plan has been drawn up in line with national recommendations with a key focus on a number of areas including: delivering care closer to home; managing viral illnesses; having appropriate staffing levels; avoiding admissions to hospital where possible, and discharging patients without delay.
In March 2022 Perth and Kinross IJB approved a £6.4 million spend on Older People's Services. The update reports delays "some delays in recruitment" which appears to have resulted in a £1 million underspend with £5.4 million expected to be committed by March 2023.
Liberal Democrat councillor Peter Barrett recently questioned the impact on older people's wellbeing of the "substantial" underspend at a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council's Finance and Resources Committee.
PKHSCP forecasts a £3.2 million overspend on inpatient beds for older people. This will be offset by £1.2 million from COVID reserves creating a net overspend of £2 million.
Due to the financial pressures faced by NHS Tayside there is no additional funding available for PKHSCP.
The report states: "In previous years, additional Scottish Government funding has been made available to each of the HSCPs through the NHS Tayside Unscheduled Care Board to support additional capacity for Winter Pressures. Given the financial pressures faced by NHS Tayside in 2022/23, no additional funding is available to the HSCPs to support increased demand over the winter period."
Towards the end of 2021/22 the Scottish Government allocated non-recurring funding to IJBs to "enhance resilience across a number of priority areas". PKHSCP has a £4.1 million two-year non-recurring investment plan for Capacity, Flow and Winter Resilience.
Perth and Kinross IJB will meet at PKC's headquarters in Perth on Wednesday.
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