Delayed discharge rates ‘spiralling out of control again’, Labour warns
The Scottish Government has said the NHS and social care services are under extreme pressure.
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Your support makes all the difference.Delayed discharges from Scottish hospitals are “spiralling”, Labour said after figures showed they had reached the highest level since the start of the pandemic.
On February 2, there were 1,666 people in hospital whose discharge was delayed.
The number fell sharply during the initial wave of coronavirus, to as low as 580 in April 2020, before rising above 1,500 around September 2021. It rose steeply again in January.
The Scottish Government has said the NHS and social care services are under greater pressure than any previous stage of the pandemic.
It is pure negligence that has let this spiral out of control again over the last year
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “These spiralling rates of delayed discharge are the last thing our struggling health service needs.
“This mounting crisis will damage patients’ recovery and drain precious funds from our NHS at the worst possible time.
“It is pure negligence that has let this spiral out of control again over the last year.
“The SNP must get a grip and invest in social care so that people can get the support they need and the NHS can focus on treating people.
“They should start by using this year’s budget to back Labour’s plans to pay staff a fair wage of £12 an hour, rising to £15.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We remain in the midst of a global pandemic and Scotland’s NHS and social care services are under more pressure than at any previous stage.
“Recent months have seen extreme pressures across the whole health and social care system and this has seen more people coming through hospitals who need high levels of care and support to go home.
“We have announced significant additional funding to address this, including £62 million to enhance care at home, £48 million to increase the hourly rate of pay, £40 million to support interim care arrangements, and £20 million to enhance multi-disciplinary teams.
“We have also recently launched our ‘discharge without delay’ programme, backed by £5 million, to help local health and social care partnerships improve discharge planning arrangements.
“We are working alongside our health boards and local partners with urgency and pace to safely discharge people to their own homes, or to an appropriate care home or community setting.
“We are doing this in the best interests of the individual involved and to also help us maximise capacity during this time of extreme pressure within our NHS.”