Cole-Hamilton: Delayed discharges another SNP broken promise

Responding to new Public Health Scotland figures showing 1,840 people were stuck in hospital at the May census due to their discharge being delayed, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

“The SNP have completely failed to get people the care they need at home or in the community so they can leave hospital on time. It's creating a shortage of hospital beds for incoming patients, adding to the pressure in emergency departments and ramping up waiting times.

“The SNP broke their promise to fix this scandal and wasted time, energy and millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on a top-down takeover of social care which did not address the actual problems the system faces.

"Fixing the care crisis is at the very heart of the Liberal Democrat offer to the country. We want to see a new UK-wide minimum wage for care workers, £2 higher than the national minimum wage, to tackle the chronic staff shortages in care and make social care a profession of choice.

"Every vote for the Liberal Democrats next year will be a vote to fix social care and save our NHS."