A patient has been stuck in a hospital for over seven years, according to bombshell new statistics, revealed by the Scottish Conservatives today.
Responses from all but one of Scotland’s health boards to the party expose the true scale of the delayed discharge crisis on the SNP’s watch.
NHS Fife confirmed a patient has been waiting for 2,576 days – and counting – the equivalent of seven years and day in hospital, despite otherwise being fit and healthy enough to return home. The average wait for patients to be discharged in the same health board is currently over two years.
Other examples include the longest waits for patients in both NHS Highland and NHS Lothian being over three years while a patient in Scotland’s largest health board, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has hit 1334 days.
Shadow health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane says the “disgraceful” figures should be a “source of shame” for the successive failed SNP health secretaries who have allowed a permanent crisis to exist across Scotland’s hospitals and social care services.
He says that SNP ministers “scandalously squandered” almost £30 million on their “reckless” plans for a National Care service which they have now finally ditched.
Sandesh Gulhane added that the long waits are proof that “wasted” millions of taxpayers’ money would have been better off being spent on local care services to urgently ensure patients can leave hospitals as quickly as possible.
Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP said: “It is scarcely believable that any patient would be stuck in one of Scotland’s hospitals for over seven years.
“Patients up and down the country are suffering shocking waits of several years despite the then SNP health secretary Shona Robison promising to eradicate delayed discharge almost a decade ago.
“These disgraceful figures should be a source of shame for and successive SNP health secretaries who have followed her who have allowed a permanent crisis to exist in Scotland’s hospitals and frontline social care services.
“SNP ministers have spent the last few years scandalously squandering tens of millions of taxpayers’ money on their reckless plans for a centralised National Care Service, which would have done nothing to help suffering patients right now.
“They have only finally ditched it at the last possible minute and bowed to the inevitable. That total waste of time and money has meant patients are languishing in hospital despite being fit and healthy enough to return home or be cared for in their local community.
“That money would have been spent on funding local care services who are best placed to meet patients needs. Now their National Care Service has finally been axed, these figures must be an urgent wake up call to sort this crisis out and ensure patients will not be suffering these appalling waits.”
Notes
A patient in NHS Fife has had their discharge delayed for 7 years and 21 days. The average period of delayed discharge in NHS Fife is 2 years and 124 days. (Scottish Conservative FOI, Available on Request).
A patient in NHS Highland has had their discharge delayed for 4 years and 147 days. The average period of delayed discharge in NHS Highland is 88 days. (Scottish Conservative FOI, Available on Request).
A patient in NHS Lothian has had their discharge delayed for 4 years and 140 days. The average period of delayed discharge in NHS Lothian is 49 days. (Scottish Conservative FOI, Available on Request).