The SNP government’s failure to tackle delayed discharge has cost NHS Dumfries and Galloway £2.6 million in the past year, according to Labour analysis confirmed by the independent experts at the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Spice).

NHS Scotland estimates that it costs £214 per day to keep a patient in hospital who is medically cleared to return home.

In the period of September 2016 to August 2017, the most recent figures available, 12,173 bed days were occupied by delayed discharge patients in Dumfries and Galloway, meaning the cost to the NHS in the area was £2.6 million

Across Scotland the cost was more than £100 million.

SNP Health Secretary Shona Robison promised to abolish delayed discharge out of the system completely in February 2015.

Labour said one of the key reasons that delayed discharge remained a problem was cuts to the budgets of local councils who provide social care.

Unveiling Labour’s research, South Scotland MSP and Labour’s Spokesperson on Social Care Colin Smyth said:

“These figures reveal the huge cost to the NHS in Dumfries and Gallwoay because of the SNP’s failure on delayed discharge.

The SNP promised to abolish delayed discharge completely -; instead it has cost £2.6million in the past year in Dumfries and Galloway alone.

The system is unsustainable. The SNP government cannot continue to slash the budgets of local councils who provide the services that people rely on and not expect it to have a knock on effect to our health service.

Much of the delays in discharging patients are due to social care issues and delays in care assessments -; the result of years of an SNP government slashing local authority budgets, with £1.5billion cut since 2011.

Labour would take a different path. We would end the cuts to our councils and deliver a National Guarantee for care workers.  

Labour would ensure all care workers are given appropriate training, paid the living wage, including the time and cost for travel, and no worker would have to deal with the insecurity of a zero-hours contract.”

Broken down by local authority that amounts to: