Mental health patients ‘abandoned’ by ministers

Government ministers in Scotland have been accused of “abandoning” mental health patients after new data showed a rise in delayed discharge waits.

The Scottish Labour party said it was “scandalous” that the average wait for people who experienced delayed discharge in a mental health or learning disability ward rose to nearly three months (87 days) in 2023.

The figures, published in the latest Mental Health Inpatient Census, an annual publication covering mental health data, showed that the average wait time was 19 days longer than the previous year.

Delayed discharge means that patients are medically fit to leave hospital but cannot do so, because they are waiting for care arrangements to be put in place.

The Mental Health Inpatient Census showed that in some parts of the country, the waits were even longer. Five health boards had average delays of more than 100 days.

The median wait in Fife was 467 days, while in NHS Highlands it was 239 days. It was 134 days in Ayrshire and Arran.

For patients in Dumfries and Galloway, the average wait was 107 days, while patients for those in Glasgow it was 106 days.

The number of people in mental health and learning disability wards who experienced delayed discharge in Scotland in 2023 was 321, accounting for 11% of all patients.

Signs of an ‘overstretched’ care system

Statistics for September showed that patients who were medically well enough to leave spent 59,033 additional days in hospital – nine percentage points higher than the same time last year. During that month, an average of 1,968 beds were occupied each day by people whose discharge was delayed, figures from Public Health Scotland have revealed.

The 2023 Mental Health Inpatient Census was carried out on 12 April 2023 by NHS boards across Scotland. The census has three parts, covering mental health and learning disability inpatient beds; placements out of NHS Scotland; and hospital-based complex clinical care and long stay.

According to Scottish Labour, the statistics are a sign of an overstretched social care system.

Paul Sweeney, the party’s health spokesperson, 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.”

Maree Todd, the minister for social care, mental wellbeing and sport, said: “It is completely unacceptable that people are spending time in hospitals or other care settings when they are medically fit for discharge. Discharge planning should begin at the point of admission and provide high-quality care and support for people with learning disabilities to live in their home communities.

“We are taking action through our Coming Home programme, such as support registers to help with local planning, and have allocated £20m to health boards to design community-based solutions to avoid or limit future hospital use.”