Delayed discharges in NHSScotland annual
Annual summary of occupied bed days and census figures: Data to March 2024 planned revision

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents a summary of delayed discharge information across NHSScotland up to March 2024.

Timely discharge from hospital is an important indicator of quality and is a marker for person-centred, effective, integrated and harm-free care.

A delayed discharge occurs when a hospital patient who is clinically ready for discharge from inpatient hospital care continues to occupy a hospital bed beyond the date they are ready for discharge. The data relate to people aged 18 years and over who were clinically ready for discharge.

This is a planned revision of the 25 June 2024 release to include updated data on: the proportion of all hospital beds occupied by delayed discharges to 2023/24; discharges from hospital; and bed day rate per 1,000 population for people aged 18 & over. In the accompanying Annual Report all sections which have been updated are clearly marked as revised.

Main points

• In the financial year ending 31 March 2024, there were 666,190 days spent in hospital by people whose discharge was delayed. These delays represent an average 1,820 daily hospital beds used by people delayed in their discharge.
• 666,190 days is the highest annual figure reported since the current guidance came into place in July 2016 and is an increase on the totals in 2022/23 (661,705) and 2019/20 (542,204), the last financial year before COVID-19 measures were introduced.
• For people who were discharged after delay 2023/24 has seen a decrease in the average time people spend in delay (10 days) compared to 2022/23 (11 days) however this is an increase on 2019/20 (7 days).
• The reasons for delay (based on the monthly censuses across the financial year) are shown in the infographic below. (Note: Other includes funding, transport, patient and family related reasons, and due to rounding figures presented in the image do not add up to 100%)

Reasons for delay in hospital discharge during April 2023 to March 2024 This bubble chart shows the reasons for delayed discharge, based on the monthly censuses across the financial year, from hospital during the period April 2023 to March 2024. The main reasons for delay were: - Awaiting completion of care arrangements (30%) - Complex delays (28%) - Awaiting place availability (26%) - Awaiting community care assessment (14%) - Other (3%) Other includes funding, transport, patient and family related reasons. Due to rounding figures presented in the image do not add up to 100%

Close

• During the financial year ending 31 March 2024, approximately 1 in 9 (10.8%) bed days in NHSScotland were occupied by people who were delayed in their discharge.
• In the financial year ending 31 March 2024, there were 17,834 discharges from hospital following a period of delay accounting for 3% of adult inpatient discharges (571,934).

Background

Delayed discharge figures in NHSScotland have been affected by measures put in place to respond to COVID-19.

Reason for delay figures are based on an average of the number of delays at each monthly census across the year which reflect the position as at the last Thursday of the month. Complex delay reasons include delays due to adults with incapacity legislation.

Revised data definitions and national data requirements came into effect on 1 July 2016. These align census information and associated bed days and ensure more robust and consistent reporting across Scotland.

It should be noted that data presented in this publication are not directly comparable with other UK countries, due to differences in definitions and data reporting.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be in June 2025.