Record high levels of delays in leaving hospital

Responding to new figures showing that in 2023/24 there were 666,190 days spent in hospital by people whose discharge was delayed, the highest annual figure since records began, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

“These record-high figures expose the SNP’s mismanagement of our NHS. Far too many are stuck in hospital unnecessarily because they can’t get the care they need at home or in the community.

“These delays are failing patients, contributing to agonising waits in A&E and creating untold pressure right across our NHS. It’s proof positive that you can’t save our NHS unless you fix the crisis in care.

“The SNP should now admit that their NHS Recovery Plan is bust and needs rewritten. Scottish Liberal Democrats are demanding that ministers stop wasting millions on their doomed takeover of social care because it is money that should be spent on services and staff to enable people to leave hospital on time.”