Delayed discharges from NHS hospitals may have cost taxpayers millions of pounds in the last two years.

Analysis by Scottish Labour found that since June 2021, as much as £293 million has been lost as people are being kept in hospital beds for longer than they need to be.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was the worst affected area in Scotland and, in January this year, the service had over 11,000 delayed bed days which happens when a person is ready to be discharged from hospital, but can’t be because an appropriate care package isn’t in place.

NHSGGC apologised to anyone who was affected by the delays but stressed that the problem was not unique to them.

They said: “As is the case throughout the country, services across NHSGGC are currently under considerable pressure, and all our staff are doing all they can to address the considerable challenges they face.

“Like other health boards, we are working hard to ease patient flow through our services and ultimately to address the challenge of delayed discharge.”

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