Delayed discharge at highest level on record, figures show

The number of beds occupied by those stuck in hospital who are well enough to be released has hit the highest level on record, new figures show.

Statistics from Public Health Scotland (PHS) show the average number of beds occupied per day by those who should have left hospital was 1,983 in June, up from 1,942 in May and the highest on record since the category was created in July 2016.

The number of people who were recorded as delayed on the last Thursday of June – used to monitor the total number in hospital without a clear medical need – was 1,991, also the highest on record.

The number of days beds were occupied as a result of delayed discharged was 59,485 in June, a 15% increase from the same time last year.

The vast majority of those stuck in hospital was due to an issue with their social care arrangements, or an issue relating to family, equating to 72% of all cases, the figures showed.

Health Secretary Neil Gray said the social care system faced “pressure” that has had an impact on its services.

“Reducing the rate of delayed discharge is an absolute priority for this government,” he added.

“We are working with health and social care partnerships, and partners in local government, to reduce delays in people leaving hospital and provide targeted support to address pressures on local systems.

“We have also put in place the delayed discharge and hospital occupancy action plan to create the necessary capacity to deal with emerging pressures.”

Scottish Tory deputy health spokeswoman Tess White said the figures were a “damning indictment” of the Government’s handling of the NHS, adding: “Over nine years have passed since Shona Robison promised to eradicate delayed discharge from Scotland’s hospitals, but now it has hit its worst ever levels.

“Their dire workforce planning and lack of support for local care services means patients who are otherwise fit and healthy are languishing in hospital beds.”

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said care services were “in crisis”, adding that plans for the creation of a National Care Service (NCS) “will do nothing to ease pressures”.

And Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said the NHS was suffering from an “SNP double-whammy” due to pressures in delayed discharge and in A&E.

“Thousands of patients are languishing in hospital corridors in those critical hours when they could be treated, and meanwhile those who want nothing more than to return home are stuck in hospital beds.

“A succession of SNP Health Secretaries promised to tackle delayed discharge as long ago as 2015, but instead they have let the delays snowball.

“And the dramatic surge in A&E waiting times compared to last summer shows that after 17 years this SNP government can’t even get the basics right.

“A Scottish Labour government would ensure that reducing A&E times is a priority while creating a proper National Care Service, worthy of the name.”