Commenting on official delayed discharge figures released today, showing an increase in delayed discharges from the last census and from this time last year, Liberal Democrat Public Health spokesman Jamie Stone said:

“Some patients are waiting longer for a bed because others are waiting weeks to be discharged from hospital. This is disappointing and potentially dangerous.

“I want to see the number of delayed discharges in Scottish hospitals cut.

“Patients are often delayed because the resources are not available to take them in community facilities.

“The Health Secretary needs to better integrate hospitals and community health facilities to speed up the transfer of patients and cut delays.”