Eight Scots stuck in hospital for six years ‘failure of highest order’ – Labour

Eight Scots with learning difficulties being stuck in hospital for more than six years has been condemned as a “Government failure of the highest order” by Scottish Labour.

Statistics released by Public Health Scotland on Tuesday show that as of September 26, 1,545 people in Scotland were on local dynamic support registers.

Such registers are designed to help those with learning disabilities avoid long stays in hospital or placements far from family.

Of those logged on registers, 486 cases are considered “urgent”.

In Scotland, 85 people on the registers were stuck in hospital, well enough to leave but without the necessary care package.

Of those, eight people had been waiting longer than six years – down from 12 since June – while 21 had been waiting between two and five years, the same figure as three months before.

Meanwhile, 79% of those on the registers were considered to be in “inappropriately out-of-area placements” – people who were receiving care too far away from their family against their own wishes and those of their loved ones.

The figures also show 44 people are currently enduring a hospital stay of more than a decade, with 28 in for between six and nine years and 54 between two and five.

No-one should be forced to spend years waiting for a care package - the SNP Government must urgently investigate the timeline of events that has led to these shocking figures

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: “That some Scots are spending more than half a decade stuck in hospital as a delayed discharge is a Government failure of the highest order.

“No-one should be forced to spend years waiting for a care package – the SNP Government must urgently investigate the timeline of events that has led to these shocking figures.

“They promised that people with complex learning disabilities would be cared for in the community closer to home, but they have singularly failed to meet their own targets.

“This is yet another SNP policy sitting on the shelf gathering dust.

“Scottish Labour will prioritise tackling delayed discharge and creating a national care service worthy of the name so that the most vulnerable can live with dignity and privacy rather than being left stranded.”

Scotland’s mental wellbeing minister Maree Todd 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 working closely with health boards and health and social care partnerships to help with local planning and ensure patients are assessed and discharged with the appropriate care package as quickly as possible – including providing health boards with £20 million to design community-based solutions to avoid or limit future hospital use.”

Scottish Greens health spokeswoman Gillian Mackay said being kept in unsuitable accommodation “infringes on people’s human rights”, adding: “We cannot continue to leave people in hospitals who deserve to be living their lives with proper support in the comfort of their own home setting.

“There has been some progress – however, recent Coming Home progress reports have highlighted continuing challenges. We need to see urgent action to make sure people are not in unsuitable accommodation or stay in hospitals for longer than they should be.

“Cosla and the Government need to work together to bring people home with appropriate care and support in place.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said delayed discharges in these areas “can be of a very complex nature”, but can be “sharpened” by “gaps in community care”.

He added: “For vulnerable people with learning disabilities, being stuck in hospital can be particularly upsetting, especially when the main roadblock is a lack of social care packages.

“They need robust community care that brings them closer to their support networks.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see the Government rewriting their failed NHS recovery plan and scrapping the doomed takeover of social care. We want to see ministers investing in solutions that work, including community-based services that will deliver appropriate clinical support, accommodation and tenancy support.”

Scottish Tory public health spokesman Brian Whittle said the figures were “shameful”.

“Leaving patients with learning difficulties in hospital for more than six years thanks to delayed discharge should be a wake-up-call for out-of-touch SNP ministers who continue throwing money at their mistakes instead of investing it where it is needed most,” he added.

“Maree Todd has wasted £30 million on a failed National Care Service Bill instead of providing care packages for those who need extra support and enabling them to continue their treatment at home.

“The SNP must urgently prioritise frontline care in their Budget to guarantee patients treatment, not delays.”