Number of people stuck in hospital still sky-high

As new statistics show delayed discharges are persisting at stubbornly high rates, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has warned that the Scottish Government can’t afford to “wait for the wrong solution” as crisis grips the entire health and social care system.

In December 2022, the average number of beds occupied per day in hospital was 1,878. There was also a 23% increase in the number of days spent in hospital by people whose discharge was delayed, from 47,177 days in December 2021 to 58,211 days in December 2022.

In 2015, the SNP Government promised to “eradicate delayed discharges from the system” within a year.  

Mr Cole-Hamilton commented:

“Once again, these figures have laid bare the systemic crisis in social care. The number of people in hospital is stubbornly high and the SNP/Green administration is hellbent on pursuing a billion-pound bureaucratic solution which will only make things worse.

“Sky-high numbers aggravate delays right across the NHS, leaving staff under pressure and patients in pain.  

“The Government must move heaven and earth to tackle this emergency. We can’t afford to waste time with the constitutional merry-go-round, or to wait for the wrong solution in four years in the shape of an ill-fated ministerial takeover of social care.

“Tomorrow, Scottish Liberal Democrats will lead a vote in the Scottish Parliament for the government to ditch legislation which would enable that takeover and to focus instead on constructive solutions, such as investing money into services and staff. Scottish Liberal Democrats would support staff today by setting national standards and entitlements for users to drive up the quality of care and move quickly to reward staff with better pay, conditions and career progression through powerful national bargaining.”

ENDS

Notes to editors: 

The latest delayed discharge figures can be found here