How many beds are occupied by long-stay patients who are fit to move into a nursing or residential home, broken down by NHS board.

The number of patients whose discharge from hospital was delayed and who were awaiting a placement in a care home at the time of the April 2004 census is shown in Table 1. Long-stay patients cannot be separately identified from the census.
Table 1 – Patients Ready for Discharge – Numbers Waiting for Care Home Placement by NHS Board as at April 2004 Census
NHS Board
| Number of Patients Waiting for a Care Home Placement¹

Scotland
| 795

Argylland Clyde
| 108

Ayrshireand Arran
| 48

Borders
| 15

Dumfriesand Galloway
| 3

Fife
| 85

Forth Valley
| 46

Grampian
| 104

Greater Glasgow
| 94

Highland
| 35

Lanarkshire
| 34

Lothian
| 141

Orkney
| 3

Shetland
| 0

Tayside
| 70

Western Isles
| 9


Since January 2002 and the launch of the first delayed discharge action plan, we have reduced the numbers delayed from 3,116 to 1,785 at April 2004. The number of patients delayed for more than six weeks has halved. The number of patients delayed for over 12 months has reduced by 68%. Furthermore, each local authority currently has vacant places in care homes for older people.
Note:
1. Number of patients ready for discharge where the principal reason was:
- awaiting place availability in local authority residential home, independent residential home or nursing home (not NHS funded);
- non-availability of public funding to purchase Residential/Nursing home place;
- patient exercising statutory right of choice, with one of the above as the secondary reason, or
- awaiting completion of social care arrangements in local authority residential home placement, independent residential home placement or nursing home placement (not NHS funded).