The number of hospital beds in Scotland occupied by patients ready to be discharged has reached a record high for the third month in a row, latest figures show.

Public Health Scotland’s statistics showed that the average number of beds used by people who were awaiting a care package to leave hospital was 1,950 in November 2022.

This is an increase of 3 per cent from October when the daily average was 1,898 and it is the highest number since the current guidance came into place in July 2016.

The number of days spent in hospital by patients who no longer needed to be there increased by 25 per cent from the previous year, the figures show.

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