Forth Valley hospital considers pharmacy changes as patients kept waiting for prescriptions

dailyrecord.co.uk:

NHS Forth Valley' s medical director says they are looking at how to reduce the amount of time that people are waiting for a prescription before they can leave hospital.

A meeting of Falkirk' s Integrated Joint Board - which oversees health and social care - heard that some patients are kept waiting in Forth Valley Royal Hospital until past midnight as they wait for a prescription to take home.

The IJB members heard that delayed discharge - which means patients are medically able to leave hospital but don't have a suitable place to go - remains very high across the health service locally. Read more: National Trust for Scotland has no plans for Pineapple visitor centre While numbers have fallen in the past few weeks, on the day of the meeting (Friday) it was reported that 60 patients were waiting to be discharged; 25 in FVRH, five in mental health and 30 people in community hospitals.Frank Donnelly, the carers' representative on the IJB, said that he had been made aware that delays are often due to prescriptions not being ready.He said: "One of the things I've found out when you're getting discharged from the hospital is the length of time you have to wait to get your prescription prior to going."You're sitting about all day while somebody is after your bed - this seems to be an ongoing thing."He also said he had spoken to some people who had been sitting downstairs [in the discharge lounge] waiting to go "until after 12 o'clock at night".Mr Donnelly suggested that people could be given a prescription to take home with them to take to the chemist.Falkirk Live brings you the latest headlines from Falkirk and beyond.But did you know all the ways you can stay informed with us?We share live news and exclusive scoops every