Record number of delayed discharges recorded, figures show

A record number of people were held in hospital in August despite being well enough to be discharged, according to new figures.

Statistics from Public Health Scotland show an average of 2,000 beds were occupied per day in August by someone who could have been discharged.

The figure is the highest since a change in regulation in 2016, and up from 1,973 in July.

In total, 62,003 bed days were lost to delayed discharge in August, up 11% from the previous year.

Health Secretary Neil Gray said an agreement with local authority body Cosla made tackling delayed discharge a “top priority” but admitted the variation between council areas was “unacceptable”.

“The health and social care system continues to face pressure due to a number of factors, including availability of workforce and suitable care placements,” he said.

“Behind every delay is a person who will not sleep in their own bed tonight despite being clinically fit to leave hospital.

“Although there have been reductions in the number of delays within many local authority areas over recent months, these have not been replicated in every health and social care partnership.

“So, we are still seeing an unacceptable level of variation.”

The Scottish Tories said the figures highlighted the “growing crisis in social care”.

“While nationalist ministers plough on stubbornly with plans for an unaffordable, centralised national care service which nobody else supports, the number of patients stuck needlessly in hospital, for want of a suitable care package, continues to rise,” said the party’s health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane.

“Delayed discharge doesn’t just affect the mental wellbeing of the patients concerned, it adds to bottlenecks elsewhere in the NHS, by increasing A&E waiting times and the number of cancelled operations.”

Dr Gulhane went on to urge the Government to drop plans for a national care service, which has lost support from councils and trade unions.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the care sector was “in crisis” and the blame “lies squarely at the door of this SNP Government”.

“Being stuck in hospital unnecessarily fails patients, contributes to record-breaking waits in A&E and leads to dangerous ambulance delays,” he said.

“It couldn’t be clearer that the SNP’s planned ministerial takeover of social care, that doesn’t have the support of unions or council leaders, should be scrapped immediately.”

And Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said the care system was “creaking under the weight of SNP failure”.

“Patients who have been treated want nothing more than to return home, but instead they are stuck in limbo in hospital beds while the corridors of A&E fill up with desperate people waiting to be admitted,” she said.

“After 17 years of twiddling its thumbs, the SNP is unprepared for this winter – it must tackle delayed discharge head-on before hospital corridors resemble crammed commuter trains.

“A Scottish Labour government will ensure that the NHS is running smoothly so that patients can be treated fast and return home as soon as possible.”