A “significant shift in approach” is being introduced in a bid to tackle Dumfries and Galloway’s bed blocking problem.
More than 100 people are currently in the region’s hospitals despite being medically fit enough to leave – an issue known as delayed discharge.
A meeting of high-level health officials resulted in the decision that people will now leave hospital when they have a start date for care at home beginning – rather than when the care is due to begin.
And people awaiting reablement – a service that helps people who have been ill or injured learn the skills necessary to live independently at home – will be discharged.
South Scotland Labour MSP Colin Smyth said: “When the health and social care partnership are being forced to make decisions like this, it really does expose how utterly broken social care is.
“The situation in our region isn’t unique and there has been a diktat from the Scottish Government to move people out of hospital quicker but patient safety is more important than making the delayed discharge figures look better for government ministers.
“These plans will need to be monitored very closely to ensure people are not being put in any danger. We are dealing with some of our most vulnerable people and my fear is this move may lead to more hospital re-admissions in the future.
“Given the lack of carers, having a date for care or reablement to start may not always be the same as it actually starting.”
A message from the chief officer of the health and social care partnership Julie White to NHS staff following the meeting read: “A significant shift in approach has been agreed at the most senior level as part of efforts to address unprecedented pressures within health and social care.
“The primary consideration here is ensuring that we minimise the level of risk in both our hospital and community settings and ensure that we use our available capacity to support those most in need.
“It is also with a grave appreciation that much of the need at the current time is very urgent, and that for many people the provision of treatment and care can be life-saving.”
Patients with a start date for care at home “will no longer remain in hospital”. Instead, social work staff will discuss their return home with family support, with home teams providing “any input deemed essential” before the package starts.
A health board spokesman said that “package of care start dates are routinely not in excess of one week”.
Anyone awaiting reablement “is not being served by spending extra days or weeks in a hospital bed”, so they will be discharged with support through home teams.
The spokesman said each person will be assessed on an individual basis.
The Scottish Government recently announced that health boards will be asked to find patients who can be discharged to free up hospital beds.
