Bed blocking needs to be tackled, says Freeman

Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman has said delayed discharge performance “needs to improve” after official figures revealed the problem was increasing.

Statistics show a 15 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of patients well enough to be discharged, but unable to leave due to health and social care reasons such as a care package not being in place.

At the August census point, 1,165 (75 per cent) patients with delayed discharge, also known as bed blocking, were for health and social care reasons – up from 1,015 at the same time last year and 1,100 the previous month.

More than a fifth (263) were due to complex needs and 36 were for patient and family-related reasons. A total of 43,913 days were spent in hospital due to delayed discharge in August – up 5 per cent on the same month the previous year.

Scottish Lib Dem health spokesman Alex Cole-hamilton said: “When patients are trapped in hospital, sometimes for hundreds of nights on end, their condition can worsen and opportunities to rebuild their lives are lost.

“That is why the health secretary should set out the Scottish Government’s plans for reducing avoidable delayed discharges and the progress they expect to be made tackling it over the coming months.”

The Scottish Greens are calling for ministers to “speed up action” on social care staffing, including boosting pay to aid worker recruitment and retention.