POC (point-of-care) solution for £30 million Scottish bed-freeing plan?:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The Scottish Executive is looking for solutions to the problem of bed blocking, with implications for strengthening point of care services. £30m ($54.3m) has been allocated specifically to this campaign in each of the two years to 2005. A long-term review of services is underway. The number of blocked beds stands at just under 2,090, but "much work remains to be done to meet the targets set for April 2004," said deputy health minister Tom McCabe. Bed blocking is a key barrier to increasing hospital activity, which is at the heart of the war on hospital waits - a weighty political issue.