By Democrat reporter
Scottish Labour has accused the SNP of failing patients recovering from a mental health crisis as delayed discharge rises on mental health and learning disability wards.
In 2023, more than one in 10 mental health inpatients in Scotland experienced delayed discharge – meaning they were stuck in hospital despite being ready to leave.
The average wait for patients experiencing delayed discharge soared to almost three months in 2023, rising by 19 days on the previous year.
Patients in some areas faced even more stark waits, with five Health Boards facing average delays of over 100 days.
The median wait in Fife was a staggering 467 days, while the median was 239 days in NHS Highlands and 134 days in Ayrshire and Arran.
Scottish Labour branded these figures “scandalous”, warning that they were a sign of an overstretched social care system.
Scottish Labour Mental Health spokesperson Paul Sweeney, left, said: “These scandalous figures are a damning indictment of Scotland’s overstretched social care system.
“Vulnerable patients recovering from a mental health crisis need a proper support plan, but too many have been abandoned by the SNP.
“Being stranded in hospital needlessly for months on end will hinder patients’ recovery and pile pressure on services.
“The SNP must get a handle on this crisis and ensure our social care system is equipped to give the support these patients need.”
Mental Health Inpatient Census 2023
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In the 2023 Census, there were 321 delayed discharge cases, accounting for 11% out of all patients for whom this data was available. This is a one-percentage point increase from the 2022 census.
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The average (median) length of delayed discharge at the 2023 Census was just under three months (87 days), which is 19 days more than in 2022.
Psychiatric, addiction or learning disability inpatients, NHS Scotland, 2023 census.
| NHS Board | Number of Delayed discharge | % of Health Board patients | Median days |
| NHS Ayrshire & Arran | 25 | 15% | 134 |
| NHS Borders | 5 | 13% | 23 |
| NHS Dumfries & Galloway | 18 | 25% | 107 |
| NHS Fife | 22 | 11% | 467 |
| NHS Forth Valley | 25 | 16% | 23 |
| NHS Grampian | 33 | 13% | 48 |
| NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde | 71 | 8% | 106 |
| NHS Highland | 13 | 12% | 239 |
| NHS Lanarkshire | 13 | 6% | 65 |
| NHS Lothian | 48 | 11% | 83 |
| NHS Tayside | 48 | 19% | 99 |
| NHS Western Isles | – | 0% | – |
| State Hospital | – | 0% | – |
| Scotland | 321 | 11% | 87 |
Top picture: Gartnavel Royal Mental Health Hospital at Anniesland in Glasgow.