Average number of hospital delayed discharge days jumps by half in a year

The average number of delayed discharge days in Scotland’s hospitals has jumped by 50% in the last year, figures show.

A report by Public Health Scotland, released on Tuesday, showed that 1,690 people were delayed in May 2022. This is a decrease of 5% when compared to the 1,780 in April.

However, the 52,914 days’ worth of delayed discharges in May marked a 50% increase when compared to the 35,348 days’ worth of delays in May 2021.

Of those delayed at the May 2022 census point, the average length of days was found to be 21.

In comparison, April’s figures reported a median of 22 days.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Craig Hoy said: “The impact of delayed discharge reverberates throughout Scotland’s NHS and social care system – and it’s clear from these shocking figures that Humza Yousaf is unable to get on top of the problem.

“Having patients stuck in hospital because there is no place for them in a care home is soul-destroying for them.

“But it also creates a shortage of hospital beds, which adds to the horrendous delays in A&E.

“It also leads to planned operations being cancelled due to a lack of capacity.”

Mr Hoy added: “We saw this clearly on Monday, when NHS Borders cited a lack of beds for its decision to cancel routine operations.”