Jackie Baillie has blasted the Scottish Government after it emerged more than 1600 people have died while waiting to get out of hospital over the past four years – over 250 of them within the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area.

The shock figures were released to the Dumbarton constituency MSP through a Freedom of Information request with Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson raising the matter with Nicola Sturgeon during First Minister’s Questions this week.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which covers West Dunbartonshire, has the second highest total in Scotland, behind only NHS Lanarkshire.

Within the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area, 256 people have died since 2018 while awaiting discharge from hospital. This included a shocking 73 people in 2019/20 alone.

Jackie Baillie said: “It is simply scandalous that over 1600 people have died in hospital while their discharge has been delayed since 2018-19 and numbers are rising with people in my constituency among the worst affected.

“Those patients and their loved ones have been cruelly failed by a government which has broken its solemn promise to end the deadly practice of delayed discharge.

“This is the human cost of SNP inaction and under-resourcing of our NHS and care system.

“It is all well and good for the First Minister to rhyme off a list of funds which have been put in place to try and tackle this problem but it is simply not working. The SNP vowed to end delayed discharge 7 years ago however it has risen by 57 percent.

“I know in my constituency care packages have been cut back dramatically in recent years and are yet to get anywhere close to where they were before the pandemic hit.

“On top of that, care workers are stretched to the limit and underpaid despite repeated calls by Scottish Labour to give them a fair wage of £15 per hour.

“It is high time the Scottish Government opened their eyes to what is happening and act to stop people dying while they are desperately waiting on the support they need to return home safely.”