Delayed discharges rise in Scotland

Delayed discharges in Scotland have increased
for the second year running in spite of executive strategies to
reduce the figures.

In the latest NHS Scotland statistical report,
snapshot figures for 15 October last year show a 6.2 per cent rise
in the number of patients who were ready for discharge. Almost 70
per cent had waited for more than six weeks to be discharged.

The main reason for delayed discharge was once
again the lack of public funding for nursing home places (22 per
cent), closely followed by 15.6 per cent who were still awaiting a
post-hospital social care assessment.

Since 1981, the proportion of patients in
Scotland aged over-85 has trebled.