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.

To provide consistency across reporting, the calculation of “Number of delays at census point > 6 months” for Code 9 Delays has been modified and this publication contains revised figures.  This revision does not affect the overall interpretation or conclusions to be drawn from the previously published data.  See Revisions relevant to this publication in the Metadata section of this publication for further details.

Our monthly update

This release provides a monthly update on the:

• number of people experiencing a delay in discharge from hospital at the monthly census point – the last Thursday of the month
• number of hospital bed days associated with delayed discharges in the calendar month
• number of discharges from hospital that followed a period of delay in the calendar month

The data relate to people aged 18 years and over who were clinically ready for discharge.

A selection of information from this publication is included in NHS Performs (external website).

Next release

The next release of this publication will be 4 June 2024.