Information on delayed discharges has been collected by ISD since September 2000 by means of a national census, undertaken quarterly.  The Delayed Discharge publication (formerly Patients Ready for Discharge) has information on the numbers of patients ready for discharge at the census point, the reasons for delay and duration of delay, shown by NHS Board and by Partnership.

From the April 2004 census the content of the report differed from that of previous reports. The report focussed mainly on those patients who had been ready for discharge for more than six weeks at the time of the census. There was no change to the definitions and data recording rules. A separate report was made available showing information at Local Authority Partner level.

In July 2006 further revisions to Definitions and Data Recording Arrangements were made as detailed below.

The latest and previous publications can be found in Statistics along with  background information on the census.

Delayed Discharges is included under the wider topic area of Joint Future, which covers joint working between Local Authority Partners, NHSScotland and other organisations.

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Figures from the April 2008 Delayed Discharge Census were published on 27 May 2008. Supplementary Information by Community Health Partnership from the last census (January 2008) was published on the 25 March 2008. A summary of the figures and the publication can be found in Statistics.

Forthcoming

The next national census will take place on or around 15 July 2008 and is expected to be published in August 2008.

Notification of Revisions to Definitions and Data Recording Arrangements for Delayed Discharges from the July 2006 Census

This provides an outline of changes to the definitions and recording of Delayed Discharges information in Scotland and the consequent impact on published statistics. Click here for details.   

National Statistics is a quality marker applied to statistics certified by the UK Statistics Authority as compliant with its Code of Practice for Statistics. The "List of Tables " page indicates which statistics within this section are National Statistics.