MORE than 1,000 hospital beds every day were taken up by patients who were well enough to go home over the busy winter period, new figures have revealed.
Over four weeks from mid-December, an average of 1,216 beds a day were lost as a result of delayed discharges, according to figures provided by health boards to the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act.
Also known as bed blocking, the issue occurs when patients cannot go home as there are no care home places available or support packages in the community. It can lead to operations being cancelled or bottlenecks at A&E as there is no space for those patients to be treated. Two NHS Grampian hospitals accounted for a tenth of all delayed discharges.
Labour shadow health secretary Jenny Marra said: "This new information shows the extent of the SNP's failure to support our NHS. 1,216 beds is more than every adult bed at the new Glasgow Southern General, one of the biggest hospitals in Europe, it is also roughly the same amount of beds the SNP have cut from our hospitals since they came into government.
"Since taking over the Health brief SNP Minister Shona Robison has repeatedly said that bed blocking would be her key priority - she needs to actually start getting on top of this huge problem."
The figures were revealed after Colin Howie, president of the British Orthopaedic Association, said there was a bed crisis in the NHS and that patients were increasingly being sent to the private sector as a result.
The Scottish Government has recently pledged £100 million to tackle the problem of bed blocking, while it is hoped that the integration of health and social care will also ease pressure.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "While delayed discharge has fallen by two-thirds under this Government, there have been recent increases. That is why tackling delayed discharge is an absolute key priority for this Government.
"Reducing delayed discharge is first and foremost good for the patient, who will benefit from being treated at home, or in a homely setting. But it also eases pressure across the system, in particular in A&E, by freeing up beds. We are bringing together health and social care to ensure the system works as effectively as possible."
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