NHS Scotland recorded its worst July on records for delayed discharge, according to latest Public Health Scotland figures.

Despite a Scottish government promise to end delayed discharge in 2015, a huge 2,012  patients spent a staggering 62,012 days in Scotland’s hospitals in July, despite being medically fit to leave.

This is the highest since comparable records began in 2016, and the highest since the October 2024 all-time peak of 62,914.

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Dame Jackie Baillie said: “Things are at their worst point in years.

“The SNP must act to tackle the scandal of delayed discharge at long last so patients can return to their lives and hospitals can focus on caring for patients who need it.”

Scotland’s Health Secretary Angela Constance Insisted that “reducing delayed discharges remains a key priority” and pointed to the publication of the Scottish government’s “health care improving flow plan” earlier this week.

She said: “We are working with health boards and health and social care partnerships to tackle waiting list backlogs, improve hospital capacity and remove blockages that keep some patients in hospital longer than they need to be.”