Last year saw highest level of delayed discharge days on record, figures show

The last financial year saw the highest annual figure for delayed discharge days spent in hospital since records began in 2016, according to new figures.

The Scottish Conservatives said the statistics should “shame” ministers.

Data from Public Health Scotland (PHS) showed a total of 720,119 days spent in hospital by people whose discharge was delayed, during the year to the end of March 2025.

PHS noted this was “the highest annual figure reported since the current guidance came into place in July 2016”.

This amounts to an average of 1,973 hospital beds per day used by people whose discharge is delayed.

Delayed discharge refers to a patient being stuck in hospital when they are medically fit to leave, often because of a lack of care solutions outside the hospital.

The Scottish Government has repeatedly vowed to bring it down by improving social care and increasing the use of hospital care in the community.

The annual figure is up from 666,190 days the previous year and 542,204 in 2019/20, which was the last year before the Covid pandemic led to major changes in the health service.

The most common reason for delay was “awaiting place availability” at 28%, following by “complex delays” at 27% and “awaiting completion of care arrangements” also at 27%.

Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP said: “These are the worst delayed discharge figures on record — and they should shame every SNP minister.

“Shona Robison pledged to eradicate delayed discharge over a decade ago but Scotland’s bed-blocking crisis is only getting worse because of the SNP’s failure to put social care packages in place.

“The nationalists have had nearly two decades to get a grip of this crisis, but it’s spiralled out of control on their watch, leaving thousands of patients stuck in hospital for up to a month.”

He added: “The SNP don’t have a plan, they’re still shamefully squandering nearly a million a month on their botched plans for the national care service, which they were forced to ditch because everyone could see it was a disaster.”