Almost 2,000 Scots stuck in hospital last month

Responding to new figures showing that there were 1,925 people stuck in hospital last month due to their discharge being delayed, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP said:

“There are around 2,000 patients every month who are medically ready to leave hospital, but who require a care package once they get home. A shortage of those packages means they are left stuck in hospital.

“These delays have become an unacceptable new normal. They are putting enormous strain on our NHS, with patients arriving at A&E forced to wait for hours before a bed becomes available.”

“Despite the SNP promising to end these delays more than a decade ago, they are now costing the NHS £1.2 million a day.

“The only way to tackle this is to fix our broken care system. That’s why my party wants to boost pay and conditions for care workers, recruit more people into caring professions and deliver new key worker housing to help them live and work in the communities they serve.”