Key facts from our report
A transcript of this animation is available to download with the other files on this page.
Publication: Delayed discharges: A symptom of the challenges facing health and social care
by Auditor General, Accounts Commission
Delays in discharging patients from hospital affect people’s physical and mental health, and make it harder to admit others to hospital. Delayed discharges are a symptom of wider pressures across health and social care in Scotland.
Main report
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All files
- Easy read summary
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- Video transcript
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- News release
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Videos
Delayed discharges interactive tool
A delayed discharge is when someone remains in hospital despite being medically ready to leave. Despite only around three per cent of all people discharged from hospital experiencing a delay, each delay has a detrimental effect on the individual’s physical and mental wellbeing. Delays also impact the flow of patients through hospitals, reducing staffing availability and capacity for other patients. While the reasons behind delayed discharges are complex and vary significantly by area, hospital and each patient, it is a symptom of much wider challenges across the health and social care system.
The online interactive delayed discharges tool below allows exploration of national data on delayed discharges and shows national and local performance across integration authorities. The tool also includes local and national contextual data that illustrates the increasing population pressures nationally and the significant variation across Scotland. Click on the tool below to access the data and click on the question mark (?) help button at the top left of each page for help navigating through the tool.
