Delayed hospital discharges increase in Ayrshire as calls made to tackle bed blocking

Delayed discharges in Ayrshire have increased by 5.2 per cent in the past year. Figures released by Public Health Scotland have revealed that patients at NHS Ayrshire and Arran hospitals have spent 3,770 days extra in hospital in the year to October 2024.

In the year to October 2023, the figure was 3,583.Although there was a year-on-year increase, delayed discharge is still 7.2 per cent lower than the last comparable period (the your to October 2019) before the Covid-19 pandemic.Also known as bed blocking, delayed discharge is when a patient is medically cleared to go home but cannot leave hospital, often because a social care package is not in place or there is a lack of places in care homes or sheltered housing.South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has called for more to be done to reduce bed blocking and claimed that thousands of hours of assessed care is not being provided in homes because of a lack of carersCommenting, Mr Smyth said: “The figures for Ayrshire and Arran are showing a small increase when compared to last year and it really isn’t good enough.“Week after week I hear from constituents at their wits end because their loved ones cannot leave hospital because there isn’t the support for them to live at home or in a care setting.“The Scottish Government vowed to eradicate delayed discharge but instead we are in a situation where we have more and more people remaining in hospital when they are fit to be discharged.

This is not only piling pressure on our hospitals but threatening patients’ recovery.“I am calling on the Scottish Government to honour this pledge and eradicate the misery of delayed discharge once and for all.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now.Get all the local news in your area – plus