A total of 1,675 beds in public hospitals were occupied in March by people hospitalized for social reasons alone, a 60% increase in unnecessary hospitalizations that should cost the state 226 million euros this year.
The data is contained in the seventh Social Internment Barometer, which will be presented this Friday in Lisbon, which concludes that 1,675 people were inappropriately admitted to the National Health Service (SNS) in March, an increase of 60% compared to to the same month in 2022, when they amounted to 1048 people.
Thirty-nine hospitals participated in this study, conducted by the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators (APAH) in partnership with EY and supported by the Portuguese Society of Internal Medicine (SPMI) and the Association of Social Work Specialists (APSS). at SNS, with a total of 19,462 beds, representing 88% of the national capacity.
“This year saw an increase in the number of hospitalizations in SNS hospital units, as well as the costs associated with these cases, which are attributed to delays in both the National Network for Integrated Continuing Care (RNCCI) admissions and admissions to residential homes for the elderly. People (ERPI),” APAH said in a statement.
The barometer considers it inappropriate to be hospitalized every day that the user spends in the hospital when he has already been discharged and there are no medical indications that justify his hospitalization.
Social hospitalization cases at the time of data collection (March 20) accounted for 9.4% of total hospitalizations in national hospitals, excluding psychiatric wards, and were estimated for the state at almost €52 million, much higher than €19.5 million. in March 2022.
“Extrapolating this scenario to all of 2023, unnecessary hospitalizations could have a financial impact of more than €226 million,” warns APAH, adding that there are a total of 102,807 days of unnecessary hospitalizations, more than 228% of those calculated in the sixth edition. barometer.
According to the study, this “huge increase is the result, in part, of an increase in the average delay due to unnecessary hospitalization”, which increased from 29.9 days in 2022 to 61.4 days in 2023, “the main reason for which is the delay in obtaining vacancies for ERPI. .
“We have more patients waiting for a place at the RRCPP, but those who are waiting for a place at the ERPI are waiting longer,” the barometer also notes.
Lisbon and the Tagus Valley (34%) and the North (45%) are the regions with the highest rate of unnecessary hospitalizations, accounting for more than eight out of 10 user hospitalizations without clinical necessity. confirmed by an extract from the hospital.
For the President of APAH, these results demonstrate the existence of a “backtracking in responses to unjustified hospitalizations”, taking into account the increase in the number of hospitalizations, but, above all, the number of days during which these hospitalizations patients wait for a place in the RRCPP or in a nursing home.
“There is an urgent need to find coordinated solutions between the health and welfare sectors by finding adequate responses for these patients,” Xavier Barreto was quoted in a statement.
The hospital administrator also stressed that “it is important to review the investments in the Recovery and Resilience Plan to understand the extent to which they contribute to the response to this public and social health challenge.”
For the president of APSS, the published data proves that the experience of the covid-19 pandemic, when the social security service was able to find solutions, led to a reduction in the number of unnecessary hospitalizations and the length of unnecessary stays in the country. there was “no continuity” in the hospitals.
“Despite an attempt to increase the ERPI’s responsiveness by reducing more seats in structures run by the solidarity sector, the weak impact of this measure is confirmed, even as we know that the sector’s responsiveness is limited, given the needs of a country with one of the highest aging rates. in Europe and the world,” complained Julia Cardoso.
On March 23, Health Minister Manuel Pizarro announced a new rearguard response for patients in the Lisbon area who can be discharged from the hospital but are awaiting a place in the RNCCI or in a nursing home.
At the time, the official said that from the beginning of April, the Sant’Ana hospital in Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa would function as a rear hospital, admitting 30 people in the first phase and later with a capacity of up to 100 users, but this week it hasn’t happened yet.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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