Early discharge fears dispelled

Press, 31 August 1989, Page 2

Early discharge fears dispelled

Reducing hospital stays to save money would not mean patients would be discharged before they were fully recovered, Canterbury Area Health Board members were assured yesterday. One board member, Dr Jocelyn Hay, said she was concerned at the board’s plan to reduce day stays on average one day as part of its efforts to trim $3O million from its budget by June. Reducing stays is estimated to save $10.5 million.

Dr Hay said she was concerned families might not be able to cope with relatives who were not fully recovered. The board’s general manager, Mr Ron Parker, assured her that patients would not be discharged early “just because they

are looking reasonably well.” The aim would be to cut down the time they were in hospital before treatment. Tests such as pathology and X-rays could be done in outpatients.

The board’s acting general manager of patient care, Dr Ross Fairgray, warned against shortening hospital stays too much. Canterbury had one of the shortest stay statistics in New Zealand, he said. The board’s hospital stays had also been considered “the norm” in the Gibbs hospitals task force report.

Mr Parker admitted there would be some areas where stays could not be reduced but he said there was still room for improvement.