‘Woeful’ figures shows hospital delayed discharges at new record high

Levels of delayed discharges in the NHS have reached a new record high, with figures showing patients who were medically well enough to leave spent a total of 661,705 days in hospital last year.

That total, for 2022-23, is up by more than 22% from the previous year, when it was 540,302 and is the highest ever recorded.

The increase comes despite Deputy First Minister Shona Robison having pledged to eradicate the problem – which is also known as bed-blocking – in 2015, when she was health secretary.

Opposition parties hit out at the Scottish Government over its “utterly woeful” performance, with Labour insisting delayed discharge had “spiralled out of control”.

In 2022-23 an average of 1,813 hospital beds each day were occupied by someone who was clinically ready to be discharged – up by 23% from the average of 1,480 in 2021-22.

“The 2022-23 figure is greater than in previous years,” Public Health Scotland said in its report.

A total of 18,157 patients over the course of the year had their departure from hospital delayed last year – with this up from 17,814 in 2021-22.

Delayed discharge often occurs when patients are waiting for a care package to be put in place, or for a space to become available in a care home.

Public Health Scotland said that of the 661,705 days spent in hospital by people who were well enough to no longer be there, almost three quarters (72%) were due to either health and social care, or patient and family related reasons.

Commenting on the figures, Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “The SNP’s performance on delayed discharge continues to be utterly woeful.

“The now-Deputy First Minister Shona Robison promised to eradicate this practice from our hospitals over eight years ago, but successive SNP health secretaries – including the now-First Minister – have failed miserably to do so.”

The Tory MSP spoke about the “utterly devastating” impact of the problem, saying it was having a “major impact on A&E waiting times and for those waiting on vital procedures being carried out”.

Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie hit out: “Delayed discharge in Scotland has spiralled out of control on Humza Yousaf’s watch, piling pressure on our hospitals and threatening patients’ recovery.”

She added: “Patients and workers across our health and social care system are being failed by this incompetent SNP government.

“We urgently need to support social care services and increase pay for the sector’s dedicated workers, so no-one is left languishing in hospital waiting for a care package.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said that “over the course of the past year, our health and social care system has faced a period of sustained, extreme pressure”.

The spokesperson added: “Emerging evidence shows that people are going into hospital with less mobility, likely due to the impact of the pandemic.

“However, it is critical that those clinically fit for discharge do not remain in hospital for longer than is necessary so that people are cared for in the right setting and that vital hospital beds are there for those who need them.

“Over this past year, the Government has worked tirelessly to support the system deal with these pressures.”

This included providing additional funding to pay for hundreds of interim beds in care homes, allowing patients to leave hospital, as well as “significant additional funding” for social care, the spokesperson said.