Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton Constituency, has warned that the NHS crisis is “spinning out of control”  as new figures show delayed discharge spiralling and operations plummeting.

Delayed discharge has shot up by almost 50 per cent over the last five months alone, with a shocking 48,436 bed days lost in September. In NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 9,648 bed days were lost in September 2021, compared to 8,195 in April 2021 and up from 6,904 in September 2020.

Operations remain well below pre-pandemic levels, with the number of planned operations for September this year more than 38 per cent lower than in 2019, raising questions about the effectiveness of the SNP’s NHS recovery plan.

Jackie Baillie has warned that things are moving in the wrong direction at a critical moment for the NHS, leaving us at risk of a “winter catastrophe”.

Scottish Labour’s Health spokesperson and Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie said:

“The crisis in our NHS is still spinning out of control.

“We are at a critical moment for our NHS, but things are moving in the wrong direction.

“Delayed discharge is spiralling upwards because the SNP have failed to deal with the growing workforce crisis in social care.

“Operations are falling at the very time we need to be playing catch up.

“We are headed towards a catastrophic winter but the SNP are asleep at the wheel.

“The Health Secretary must face up to the fact his plan isn’t working.

“We need fair pay for social care workers and real action to support the NHS before this chaos costs lives.”