Figures released by Public Health Scotland on Tuesday show delayed discharge figures have got worse when compared to the same month in 2024.

The figures for February 2025 show 5448 bed days occupied in Ayrshire and Arran, compared to 4889 in February 2024.

Delayed discharge is when a patient is medically cleared to go home but cannot leave hospital, often because a social care package is not in place or there is a lack of places in care homes or sheltered housing.

Across the country thousands of hours of assessed care is not being provided in homes because of a lack of carers.

Colin Smyth said: “Once again we are seeing deteriorating picture when looking at delayed discharge figures in Ayrshire and Arran, which is concerning.

“The human cost of delayed discharge cannot be underestimated but what continues to give me serious concerns is the cost to our amazing NHS.

“The more people remaining in hospital when they are fit to be discharged, the more pressure is piled onto the NHS and all the fantastic healthcare workers who are trying to help them.

“What we need is long term investment, including tackling the woeful low level of sheltered housing locally, and start paying care workers a fair wage, which would help with the recruitment crisis the sector faces. We also need to drive up the standards of care, because too often people receive just the very basic support, which isn’t enough.”