Cost of delayed discharge of patients in Scotland hits £1.5 billion

The cost of delays to the discharge of patients from hospitals in Scotland has reached nearly £1.5 billion over the last 10 years, according to analysis by Scottish Labour.

More than five million bed days have been lost to the problem since March 2015, the party’s analysis of figures from Public Health Scotland (PHS) shows.

In 2015 the then SNP health secretary Shona Robison pledged to eradicate delayed discharge by the end of that year.

However, the number of bed days lost per year every year after the pledge was made has remained in the hundreds of thousands.

In 2023/24 alone the cost of delayed discharges was calculated to be almost £208 million, up from around £195m the year before.

Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “Ten years since the SNP pledged to end delayed discharge, taxpayers are nearly £1.5 billion out of pocket and delayed discharge is at a record high.

“The SNP has had 17 years to fix our broken social care system but instead they have wasted a further £30 million on a failed National Care Service Bill that did not pay for a single extra carer.

“Meanwhile, patients remain trapped in hospital while others languish in corridors because there aren’t enough beds.

“The UK Labour budget delivered a record settlement to Scotland – now the SNP must ensure that every penny is spent wisely so our NHS can work smoothly again.”

Health secretary Neil Gray said: “Most people are able to leave hospital with no delays – currently over 96% of all hospital discharges happen without delay – but reducing delayed discharges further is a priority for the Scottish Government.

“Our Budget for 2025-26 will invest £200 million to reduce waiting list backlogs, improve capacity and remove barriers which keep some patients in hospital longer than necessary.

“We also want to expand Hospital at Home to treat 150,000 more patients, deliver additional support for GPs and invest in new hospitals at Belford and Monklands.

“Our Budget will unlock investment to drive long-term and lasting improvements – and the healthier population that we all want to see. The NHS needs Parliament to unite behind this Budget.”