Lanarkshire hospital patient faced nine month wait before delayed discharge

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Lanarkshire hospital patient had to wait nine months before finally being discharged from hospital, new stats have shown.A Freedom of Information request revealed that nearly 500 patients in the region's three hospitals had to wait over 22 days before being allowed out, mostly due to waiting for care packages and support to be made available.Patients in the region faced an average delay of eight days before their delayed discharge, which is the second lowest rate in Scotland.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Almost 600 (594) patients were released within three days of being able to leave, 355 were between four and five days and a further 273 were out within a week.Another 92 were able to go home eight to 14 days late, 56 were out within 15 to 21 days, and 475 people were still waiting after 22 days.The longest average waits for patients to be discharged were in Dumfries and Galloway and the Highlands, while the longest wait by any patient was NHS Tayside, where a resident had to wait 1835 days, or over five years, before being discharged.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, who serve some patients in the Rutherglen area, did not prove any information regarding their numbers.

Alex Cole-Hamilton, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, who carried out the FOI, said the figures must improve. He