9,523 Scots waiting on social care assessment or care package 

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today urged the Scottish Government to turn up the tempo as new figures revealed that there are more than 9,000 people currently waiting on social care assessments and care at home packages.

Figures from Public Health Scotland published today reveal:

• The number of people estimated to be waiting on a social care assessment for a package of care to enable them to live independently at home or in the community was 6,639 on 5 May 2025.

• The estimated number of people assessed and waiting for a care at home package was 2,884 on 5 May 2025.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“People are stuck in hospital waiting for care packages and assessments when they want to be getting on with their lives.

“You can’t fix the NHS unless you fix care because the more patients are delayed in leaving hospital, the longer people wait at A&E and the longer ambulances wait outside the front door.

“That’s why Scottish Liberal Democrats are so focused on repairing the crisis in social care and unpicking the damage done by the SNP. We secured millions more through our budget negotiations, ended wasteful spending on another SNP centralisation and fashioned a new pipeline for care workers through colleges. Now we need the Scottish Government to get on and make that count.”