A DECADE on from the Scottish government’s pledge to eradicate delayed discharges in the NHS, numbers have climbed to their highest ever.

Revised data from Public Health Scotland (PHS) show that in 2023-24, a staggering 666,190 days were spent in hospital by people trapped there for the want of support such as social care packages. 

This is 22 per cent higher than the pre-Covid tally of 542,204 in 2019-20.