Minister defends fines plan over hospital readmissions

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has defended plans to impose financial penalties on hospitals if patients are readmitted as an emergency within 30 days of being discharged.

The Cabinet Minister insisted the move – where hospitals are paid for initial treatment but do not get paid again if a patient is brought back in with a related problem – would result in a "much better system" for both patients and hospitals. "Instead of there being a divide between the hospital which undertakes the treatment initially and then hands over to a separate, completely separate, community therapist, then actually the hospital takes responsibility for the whole of that care."

"What we escape from is the perverse situation at the moment where a hospital might discharge patients too early – and we have seen a 50 per cent increase in the number of emergency readmissions – and then when the patient comes back as an emergency, the hospital gets paid again."

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It has been argued that some patients are discharged too soon and without proper care plans in place.

The Conservatives have also said cuts to the number of hospital beds under Labour put pressure on NHS staff to discharge people without support.

Between 1998/99 and 2007/08, the number of emergency readmissions in England rose 52 per cent from 359,719 to 546,354. Mr Lansley said the Government was "very clear" it would increase the NHS budget every year in real terms to meet the demands on the service.

Chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society Ruth Sutherland said: "If we are to put an end to the shocking revolving door care delivered by many hospitals, the focus must be on quality and providing people with the right 'after care' to allow them to remain independent in the community.

"People with dementia occupy a quarter of hospital beds and yet a recent Alzheimer's Society report found that the majority leave hospital in worse health than when they arrived."