Concern was raised after two thirds of patient discharges were delayed during a ward visit to Woodland View.

North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s Integration Joint Board members heard this month that an action plan has been developed in response to the recommendations.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland made an announced visit to Ward 3, Woodland View on the Ayrshire Central Hospital back in September 10 2019.

Inspectors met with and reviewed the care and treatment of 11 patients and two relatives and spoke with charge nurses, staff nurses, health care assistants and the bed manager.

The report states: “We enquired about patients who were fit for discharge, but discharge was delayed. We were concerned to hear two thirds of the patients were recorded as having a delayed discharge.

“The senior charge nurse described a combination of issues. Some patients being admitted from a care home that could no longer manage their care and treatment, and difficulty in finding suitable placements for patients with a complex presentation.

“We were told this issue is being actively addressed through monthly monitoring meetings with both the inpatient service manager and the bed manager.”

General Manager William Lauder told the board: “It’s an ongoing challenge for us as this week we have all 15 beds occupied in Ward 3, seven recorded as delayed discharges, two about care at home availability and funding and three about care home acceptance or funding.

“We have a waiting list at the present time with six persons, so it doesn’t take a great mathematician to say we’ve got seven delayed discharges and six people waiting so if we could try to improve that throughput that would make that more manageable.”

There was a number of delayed discharges within the ward and action in regards to that is certainly ongoing. Ward 3 is pan-Ayrshire in nature in terms of the facility so we now have a fortnightly older adult discharge liason group meeting where senior social workers

and senior charge nurses abnd go through who is recorded as a delayed discharge, and agree actions to try and address and progress that.

It’s an ongoing challenge for us as this week we have all 15 beds occupied in Ward 3 and seven of them are recorded as delayed discharges. Two of them have been about care at home availability and funding and three about care home acceptance or funding

but absolutley recognise that balance between funding opportunities and demand and expectation to have appropriate beds free in acute hospital which can prioritise the resources which are available

but it certainly does have an impact for mental health provision.

Daily report from TrakCare identifying all recorded delayed discharges and reason, with a weekly summary report sent to Head of Service and Director North HSCP.

A Fortnightly Older Adult Discharge Liaison Group meeting takes place to review all delayed discharges, meeting attended by SCNs, CNMs, Bed Managers and Social Work representatives.

Pan-Ayrshire group meeting to review inpatient pressures, barriers to discharge, cause of admission and identify required community solutions/resource to minimise required inpatient stay. Paper for requested investment being generated to utilise released resource from inpatient services restructuring.