NHS Forth Valley: Health chiefs looking into prescription delays stopping discharges from FVRH

NHS Forth Valley’s medical director says they are looking at how to reduce the amount of time that people are waiting for a prescription before they can leave hospital.

A meeting of Falkirk’s Integrated Joint Board – which oversees health and social care – heard that some patients are kept waiting in Forth Valley Royal Hospital until past midnight as they wait for a prescription to take home.

The IJB members heard that delayed discharge – which means patients are medically able to leave hospital but don’t have a suitable place to go – remains very high across the health service locally.

While numbers have fallen in the past few weeks, on the day of the meeting last Friday it was reported that 60 patients were waiting to be discharged; 25 in FVRH, five in mental health and 30 people in community hospitals.

Frank Donnelly, the carers’ representative on the IJB, said that he had been made aware that delays are often due to prescriptions not being ready.

He said: “One of the things I’ve found out when you’re getting discharged from the hospital is the length of time you have to wait to get your prescription prior to going.

“You’re sitting about all day while somebody is after your bed – this seems to be an ongoing thing.”

He also said he had spoken to some people who had been sitting downstairs in the discharge lounge waiting to go “until after 12 o’clock at night”.

Mr Donnelly suggested that people could be given a prescription to take home with them to take to the chemist.

Dr Andrew Murray, medical director of NHS Forth Valley, said the hospital’s senior management are aware this is an issue and it is something they are considering.

He said: “That’s one of the improvements we’re looking at – can we give out prescription pads to doctors on the wards?”

“The director of pharmacy is proposing that is something we could be trialling in pilot areas.”

Mr Donnelly said it might also have an impact on the number of people who need readmitted to hospital. He told members of the board about someone who had been sent home without a prescription for morphine.

Despite being promised it would be delivered by taxi there was no sign and after waiting another day, the patient was very close to “ending up in hospital again”.

Dr Murray apologised for what sounded like “a poor experience” and said there was ongoing work to improve the discharge process.

“Medication and prescription issues are recurring theme in delays to discharge so we have lots of improvement work around that,” he said.

Members of the IJB heard that there had been some improvements made in recent months and at the time of writing the report the number of delays is the lowest since April 22.

There was also better news regarding the number of people awaiting assessment, which was its lowest for around three months.

However, chief officer Patricial Cassidy said it was important to say that despite these improvements the health and social care system was still very busy and under tremendous pressure.