Wednesday 4 December 2024
Today’s budget released by the Scottish government is a “step in the right direction” but comes too late to ease the winter crisis already hitting some of the country’s A&Es.
This is the response from The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) following the budget announcement today – Wednesday 4 December 2024 – by Finance Secretary Shona Robison MSP.
The College has welcomed the announcement of £200 million to tackle delayed discharge, a key contributor to long A&E waiting times and a 25% increase in social care spending.
The budget also included a £2 billion increase in frontline NHS spending to reduce waiting lists and improve access to GPs.
Dr Fiona Hunter, RCEM’s Vice Chair for Scotland said: “We welcome the government’s commitment to addressing many of the systemic issues that have plagued our health care system – its patients and staff – for far too long.
“RCEM has long campaigned for a sustained focus on tackling delayed discharge and improving social care capacity and this budget represents a step in the right direction. We are glad our call, and those of others highlighting this issue, have been answered.
“However, it has not come soon enough to ease pressures faced by A&Es who are working under extreme pressure to care for patients right now.
“We restate our commitment to working with the Scottish government to bring an end to this reality and #ResuscitateEmergencyCare in Scotland, for generations to come.”
The budget statement comes just one day after an Audit Scotland report revealed the number of people remaining in hospital because their discharge has been delayed – often due to a lack of social care capacity – is the highest on record.
