One in 13 hospital beds in Scotland taken up by those well enough to leave

ONE in 13 hospital beds in Scotland are occupied by people who are well enough to leave, figures from the NHS have showed.

Data for 2017-18 showed across the country 494,123 bed days were lost to delayed discharge –which occurs when people are medically ready to leave but have to wait for care arrangements to be made.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, had the lowest proportion, with 3.1 per cent of beds being taken up by delayed discharge.

There was a 6 per cent reduction last year, with the total of bed days lost because of delayed discharges down from 527,099 the previous year.

Last year approximately one in 13 (7.8 per cent) of occupied beds in NHS Scotland were a result of delayed discharges.

The most common reason for patients to be kept in hospital was they were waiting for care arrangements to be put in place, with this accounting for 34 per cent. Health Secretry Jeane Freeman pointing that the figures amounted to a 9 per cent drop from 2015-16.