Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) staff have received plaudits for the “excellent work” they have done in ensuring the organisation remains a top performer on delayed discharge.
Recent data shows the area has just 13.8 delays per 100,000 adult population – a figure comfortably below the Scottish Government target of 34.6.
It means the partnership sits in the ‘low’ category with no improvement required and its only expectation being to sustain its current levels.
Chief officer Christine Laverty expressed her joy that performance hadn’t declined now winter has arrived at a meeting of the integration joint board, the body responsible for oversight of the HSCP, on Friday.
She said: “We continue to perform really well and at the time of writing we’re the highest performing HSCP across Scotland, so we’re delighted about that.
“That’s very much down to team effort, particularly Carron O’Byrne’s [head of health and social care] team, who has been working really closely with Pauline’s [Robbie, interim head of health and social care] team in terms of making sure that we can prevent admissions to begin with but also move people out very quickly as soon as they are fit for discharge.
“We’re really pleased about that because that is a priority for us and we’re pleased that the performance hasn’t dipped now that we’re in winter because we know the pressure that is on our acute hospitals.”
The latest update comes after a weekly meeting was established – named the collaborative response and assurance group – aimed at reducing delays in Scotland to pre-pandemic levels.
Chief officers across the country are expected to attend the summit alongside Scottish Government colleagues, the Care Inspectorate and COSLA.
A delayed discharge can occur when a patient, who is clinically ready for discharge, cannot leave the hospital because the necessary care, support or accommodation is not accessible.
Councillor Iain McMillan, a member of the board, also paid tribute to the workers for their contribution to the partnership’s stellar performance.
He said: “I think it’s always worth noting the success of the delayed discharge performance.
“Renfrewshire continues to do very well, so, as I’ve said before and I think it’s always worth repeating, I just commend the staff for the excellent work they do on this.”
Councillor Jennifer Adam, chair of the board, responded: “You’re right. It’s always well worth noting how well we’re doing on delayed discharge, so thanks for that.”
Don’t miss the latest Renfrewshire headlines –sign up to our free daily newsletter here