National Assembly for Wales

Our validated discharge data is now collected on a monthly basis through our Pathways of Care delay Reporting Framework.  This system collates data recorded as a snapshot census of delays experienced on an all-Wales basis on the third Wednesday of each month. The data do not reflect the total number of delays that occurred over the month. Data are not available on a weekly basis.

The figures represent the number of adults occupying an NHS hospital bed, who were 'clinically optimised' and ready to return home, or move on to the next stage of care, that experienced a delay in their transfer of more than 48 hours beyond the point they were clinically optimised. 'Next stage of care' refers to all destinations outside of NHS hospitals.

Data are published on Stats Wales (Pathway of Care Delays by reason for delay and date (gov.wales)) and show the reasons for delays by health board and local authority.  The latest published data are for November 2023. Table 1 provides figures for delays that were either related to social care, or are the joint responsibility of health and social care:

Table 1. Pathways of care delays for social care and joint health and social care related reasons, Wales, November 2023.

It is important to note that it is not necessarily the case that these delays are attributable to any shortages within the sector. While some may be the result of the availability of workforce or provision in regions, the complexity of individual cases can also have an impact on how quickly they can be supported to be discharged.

We are using this data to work with health boards and local authorities to understand their regional and local issues in order to more effectively support hospital discharges and patient flow.