Call for more health funding be diverted to elderly social care
Health spending should be diverted to improving social care for the elderly, according to the body representing independent care services in Scotland.
Scottish Care has called on politicians to tackle the ‘taboo’ of NHS spending saying investment in social care would improve lives and cut hospital admissions.
Speaking ahead of the Scottish Care conference this weekend, their Chief Executive Ranald Mair, told BBC Radio Scotland: “If we’re going to manage to keep more people out of hospital, to maintain them in their own homes and also to prevent them going into long term care at an early stage, then we actually have to invest in home care.
“The danger at the moment is that we’re continuing to invest in hospitals and as you know, all politicians want to be the defenders of the NHS.
“This isn’t an attack on the NHS, let me be clear. If people need to go to hospital that’s where they should be.”
“But what we know is that over 20% of admissions of older people to hospital are ‘unnecessary’ admissions.
“They’re not going in because of their clinical needs, they’re going in because of their circumstances and because of the lack of alternatives.”
New figures from research commissioned by Scottish Care found:
- In 2012-13, the average emergency hospital admission for over-65s lasted for 11.8 days, at an average cost of £4,846.
- This amount could fund either care at home for a week for 27.7 older people or 9.28 weeks in a residential care home for one pensioner.
- Unscheduled hospital admissions for over-65s amount to a third of the £4.5bn spent on health and social care for older people.
For more visit: http://www.scottishcare.org
