• “Less than two weeks to save Christmas” – Lib Dems call for new winter discharge unit as figures reveal patients wait 268 days to leave hospital
• Brexit and SNP missed opportunities are costing Scotland dearly

“Less than two weeks to save Christmas” – Lib Dems call for new winter discharge unit as figures reveal patients wait 268 days to leave hospital

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a new dedicated winter discharge unit to stop thousands of patients being trapped unnecessarily in hospital over the festive period amidst a perfect storm of doctors strikes and winter pressures.

The unit would use a new £90m fund to deliver a surge of locum doctors during discharge bottlenecks to free up doctors on shift, backed by 24/7 patient transport, and 5,000 emergency social and home care packages a week over the Christmas period.

It comes as a Freedom of Information request by the party reveals the scale of the crisis in our NHS and social care which is leaving patients waiting hundreds of days to be discharged.

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust admitted that their longest delay for a patient to be discharged last year was 268 days, which is almost 9 months. Surrey and Sussex Health Care NHS Trust had similarly eye-watering waits, with their longest hospital discharge hitting 196 days, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust left a patient waiting to be discharged for 193 days, or over 6 months.

Warrington & Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS foundation trusts reported their longest waits of 162 days, whilst Tameside & Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust revealed their longest day was 154 days. This is the equivalent of over 5 months.

In December 2024, even without strikes or record levels of flu, 20,000 people had a delay being discharged of longer than four days, with 2,553 facing delays of over 21 days. The cost of delayed discharge has been estimated by the Kings Fund at £395 per bed, per night. Last December, more than 10,000 patients a day remained in hospital who were no longer meeting the criteria to stay, suggesting a cost to the NHS in excess of £122m.

NHS bosses have warned that the strikes, which will take place from the 17th to the 22nd of December, will be particularly disruptive, falling just before Christmas, and emphasised the importance of sufficient staffing to get people discharged to see their families.

Liberal Democrat Care and Carers Spokesperson Alison Bennett MP said:

This winter, thousands of families face the heartbreaking prospect of their loved one being trapped in hospital. And thanks to a perfect storm of strikes and chaos in the face of winter pressures, many more patients will spend Christmas in the hospital this year.

Liberal Democrats are putting forward a bold plan to ensure thousands more patients get home for Christmas. Through round the clock transport, extra social care places and funding for extra locum shifts when they are most needed the government can and must get them home.

Time is ticking – the Government has less than two weeks to save Christmas for families up and down the country.

Brexit and SNP missed opportunities are costing Scotland dearly

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today said that Brexit and SNP incompetence are costing Scotland dearly as new analysis from his party revealed that Scotland now exports less, both to EU destinations and to the rest of the UK.

Analysis of key Scottish Government statistics revealed that

• In 2023, Scotland’s exports to the rest of the UK were valued at an estimated £55.4 billion, down 10% from 2018, whereas international exports were valued at an estimated £37.7 billion, which is a 4% real-terms decline since 2018.

• Exports to EU destinations, which account for just under half (45%) of international exports were estimated to have fallen by 11% in real terms, to £17 billion.

• ‘Food & drink’, worth £7.5 billion, remained Scotland’s largest international export sector, accounting for a fifth of Scotland’s international exports, despite a 5% real terms decrease since 2018.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

Scotland has a huge amount going for it. We produce energy, technology, world class food and drink.

Unfortunately our huge potential is being squandered. Part of that is Brexit. We are undeniably poorer because of the red tape and confusion that first the Conservatives and now Labour have burdened us with.

But that is not the whole story. Scotland’s exports to the rest of the UK have dropped too and for that the SNP need to take a share of the blame. Their economic incompetence and scattergun approach to tax has made Scotland a less attractive place to build up a business.

All of the major parties have let you down. The Scottish Liberal Democrats believe Scotland deserves better than this. We believe in fairness for everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from. That’s why we have a realistic plan to get things done, supporting business and getting the economy growing with a new customs union.

At next year’s election, every vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the second peach ballot will deliver change with fairness at its heart.