Government must realise that Scotland does not have a never ending supply of hospital beds

4.36.43pm GMT Tue 23rd Feb 2010

Commenting on figures released today showing that there were 606 delayed discharges in January, an increase from 492 in the same month last year and of those, 83 patients waited more than six weeks to leave; up from 79 in January 2009, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary Ross Finnie MSP commented:

“It is disappointing that the number of patients waiting to be discharged in Scotland is rising instead of decreasing.

“Bluntly, this means more patients have to wait longer for a bed for their operations.

“The SNP Government must realise Scotland does not have a never ending supply of hospital beds.

“Delaying patients in hospital because resources are not available in the community is something that the government must urgently address.

“The Health secretary must ensure integration between hospitals and community health facilities so that no patient is delayed beyond the six week discharge period.