THE number of patients transferred out of their own health board area for treatment has reached its highest level in five years, it has emerged.
Almost 100,000 people were admitted to hospitals in other health boards, transferred to the private sector or treated at the Golden Jubilee National hospital in Clydebank, near Glasgow, in 2014.
The figures, which emerged as a result of a parliamentary question by Scottish LibDem MSP and health spokesman, Jim Hume, show that there has been a steady rise in the number of patients being transferred away from their own health board.
There are a number of reasons why patients would be transferred elsewhere for treatment, including cancer and transplant patients who are moved to specialist units in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
However, a major driving force in the past has been the need to hit the 12-week waiting time guarantee and hospitals losing capacity due to bed blocking.
Dr Jean Turner, chief executive of the Scotland Patients Association, said: "If you are in agony and you need a new knee or a new hip or whatever, then I'm sure most patients would prefer to be treated earlier by going elsewhere than waiting for an operation in their own health board. And of course there are good reasons for moving patients.
"But my worry is that some health boards are struggling to cope and shifting the burden elsewhere. We have an ageing population and where there's a lack of social services and community care, you get bed blocking.
"I would like to know which health boards are transferring the most patients, where they're going and why."
After dipping slightly from 92,538 in 2010 to 91,231 in 2011, there has been an upward trend in the number of patients transferred to other health board areas for treatment, reaching a five-year high of 99,771 patients last year.
From 2010 to 2014, the number of patients treated outwith their own health board increased by 7.8 per cent. In comparison, the increase in the number of patients admitted to hospitals in their own health board area only increased by 2.4 per cent.
The Herald previously revealed that in 2014/15, the NHS in Scotland spent £20 million sending 7,500 patients to private hospitals - down from £26.3m the previous year. NHS Lothian was the biggest spender, with the practice costing the health board £8m.
Health boards are also required to pay other health boards for taking on their patients.
Mr Hume said that new figures reveal the "real pressure" faced by the NHS in Scotland.
He said: “What this could mean is patients and their families facing longer and more expensive journeys and extra stress at what may already be a difficult time.
"We know that bed blocking remains a problem in many areas and we have seen the number of beds for older patients fall on the SNP's watch.
"We need to understand why so many patients are being asked to travel outside their health board for treatment. Ministers need to ensure that doctors and nurses are getting the support they require to give patients the treatment they need as close to home as possible.”
Maureen Watt, Minister for Public Health, said: “There are very good reasons why people are treated outside their board areas. Specialist care is provided in the most appropriate environment, regardless of board boundaries. In many cases it is easier for a patient to go to a hospital in a neighbouring board area, because it is nearer to their home.
"There are many other patients who start their care in their own area and are then referred to a regional centre for specialist treatment. For example, these figures include The Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank, which is a world-class national centre providing treatments such as heart transplants and cardiac bypass surgery.”
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