Delayed discharges are costing tax payers millions of pounds
As much as £293 million has been lost since 2021 as people are being kept in hospital beds for longer than they need to be.
Last updated 19th Mar 2023
Delayed discharges from NHS hospitals may have cost taxpayers millions of pounds in the last two years.
Analysis by Scottish Labour found that since June 2021, as much as £293 million has been lost as people are being kept in hospital beds for longer than they need to be.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was the worst affected area in Scotland and, in January this year, the service had over 11,000 delayed bed days which happens when a person is ready to be discharged from hospital, but can’t be because an appropriate care package isn’t in place.
NHSGGC apologised to anyone who was affected by the delays but stressed that the problem was not unique to them.
They said: “As is the case throughout the country, services across NHSGGC are currently under considerable pressure, and all our staff are doing all they can to address the considerable challenges they face.
“Like other health boards, we are working hard to ease patient flow through our services and ultimately to address the challenge of delayed discharge.”
Scottish Labour health spokesperson, Jackie Baillie, placed the blame at the SNP’s feet saying: “Delayed discharge has spiralled out of control since Humza Yousaf became Health Secretary, costing our NHS vast sums of money it can’t afford to waste.
“This astonishing dereliction of duty has been damaging for patients, staff and services.
“This is a huge burden on our NHS at a time when services are already stretched to breaking point and every single pound of public money counts.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said that addressing the issue was of “critical importance”.
She added: “"As part of the ministerial advisory group, we continue to work tirelessly with health boards and health and social care partnerships to ensure we are doing everything we can to support people out of acute settings and back into the community when it is clinically safe to do so."
An additional £8 million has been allocated by the government to help ease the problem, and as of March 6, the government say there were 633 patients in interim care placements.