Delayed discharges in NHSScotland monthly
Figures for April 2022

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

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 tables available on this page, have been revised from those published prior to May 2022 following the recommendations of the consultation on the future presentation of delayed discharge information.

Download the summary of responses to the consultation and actions. (PDF, 638KB).

The tables now show information grouped by delay reasons groups and report information on the following:

• Census figures
  • Information on the number of people experiencing a delay in their discharge at the - monthly census point. Information provided includes: reason for delay, location of delay and delay length.
  • From the May 2022 publication, the census figures for April 2021 onwards, include delays due to infection control measures in place at hospital or care home (delay reason codes 26X and 46X).
• Bed days occupied
  • The number of bed days associated with delayed discharges within a calendar month.
• Discharges following delay
  • Discharge from hospital following delay discharges from hospital to home or placement following a period of delay within a calendar month.

Download the files associated with this month's report or access the open data.

Publication title

Delayed Discharges in NHSScotland

Description

This publication provides monthly information on the number of hospital bed days associated with delayed discharges and the number of discharges from hospital following a period of delay for a full calendar month. Information is also provided on the number of people experiencing a delay in discharge from hospital at the monthly census point.

Figures are shown for Scotland, NHS Board area of treatment and Local Authority of residence for people aged 18 and over who were clinically ready for discharge.

Theme

Health and Social Care

Topic

Delayed Discharges

Format

HTML and Excel

Data source(s)

Public Health Scotland (PHS) Delayed Discharge monthly data submission

Date that data are acquired

The number of people delayed as at a monthly census snapshot taken on the last Thursday of the month.

The number of bed days occupied by people delayed in their discharge from hospital in the calendar month.

The number of discharges from hospital following a period of delay in the calendar month.

These data were submitted by NHS Boards to Public Health Scotland in April 2022.

Release date

7 June 2022

Frequency

Monthly

Timeframe of data and timeliness

Data are available for publication within six to eight weeks of the census month.

Continuity of data

NHS Boards submit delayed discharge information to PHS for national reporting purposes.

Revised data definitions manual and national data requirements were effective 1 July 2016 and can be found at https://beta.isdscotland.org/topics/delayed-discharges/data-definitions-and-submission/. For detailed changes to the definitions since 2005, see page 2 of the latest Delayed Discharge Definitions Manual effective 1 July 2016 and a summary of changes and impact on national reporting. Limited trend information is available pre and post July 2016 due to the definitional changes and relevant notes have been added to the tables to explain this.

Some NHS Boards used the EDISON system to record people delayed in their discharge from hospital. During 2018 EDISON was retired and affected Boards migrated to their own local system solutions. NHS Boards are still required to report on delayed discharges as specified in the data definitions and national reporting requirements effective 1 July 2016, therefore figures remain comparable and we do not expect any reduction in the quality of the data.

Revisions statement

Figures contained within each publication may also be subject to change in future publications. Further detail can be found on the About our Statistics section of the website.

Revisions relevant to this publication

This publication has revisions to census figures. Following the consultation on Delayed Discharges https://beta.isdscotland.org/media/9432/dd_consultation_responses_publication.pdf, from the May 2022 publication the census figures for April 2021 onwards, include delays due to infection control measures in place at hospital or care home (delay reason codes 26X and 46X).

Concepts and definitions

The delayed discharge data definitions manual (effective from 1 July 2016), national data requirements (effective 1 July 2016) and a summary of PHS validation checks are published at: https://beta.isdscotland.org/topics/delayed-discharges/data-definitions-and-submission/.

Relevance and key uses of the statistics

Key uses of delayed discharge information include monitoring policy obligations both locally and nationally, helping to troubleshoot in partnership areas with specific problems, facilitating benchmarking with other areas, identifying the potential release of resources to focus on more appropriate care and providing useful dialogue between health and social care agencies.

Delayed discharge information is also used to respond to information requests (including FOI requests) from a variety of customers and parliamentary questions.

Accuracy

The data are considered accurate. Data are validated locally by partnerships. PHS carry out further validation checks in consultation with NHS Boards.

Completeness

100% of the data is used for analysis.

Comparability

Data are not comparable out with Scotland.

Limited trend information is available pre and post July 2016 due to the definitional changes effective from 1 July 2016. Relevant notes have been added to the published tables to explain this.

Accessibility

It is the policy of Public Health Scotland (PHS) to make its web sites and products accessible according to published guidelines.

Coherence and clarity

All delayed discharge reports are accessible via the PHS website. Tables and charts are presented within an interactive Excel workbook with drop down boxes.

Value type and unit of measurement

Number of delays by length and reason at the census point.
Number of bed days occupied by delayed patients in a calendar month.
Number of discharges from hospital following a period of delay in a calendar month.

Disclosure

The PHS protocol on Statistical Disclosure is followed.

Official Statistics designation

National Statistics

UK Statistics Authority Assessment

The statistics last underwent a full assessment by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) against the Code of Practice in September 2011.

Last published

3 May 2022

Next published

5 July 2022

Date of first publication

Historic quarterly data published from December 2000
Monthly data published from June 2015
First annual publication in June 2016

Help email

phs.delayeddischarges@phs.scot

Date form completed

24 May 2022