Age Scotland is calling for urgent action to tackle social care failings after the latest Public Health Scotland report.
The report found that the number of older people being kept in hospital because of lack of community care is higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The report shows that there were 50,340 days spent in hospital by people whose discharge was delayed in June, an increase of 36 per cent compared with June 2021.
The average stay in hospital increased to 23 days in June from 21 days in May.
Chief executive at Age Scotland, Brian Sloan, said: “Too many people are spending far too long in hospital when they don’t want, or need, to be there largely because there isn’t enough social care available in their community to support them.
“The impact this has on their health, mobility, loneliness and long-term independence is extraordinarily negative. Three weeks spent in hospital when you don’t need to be there can have the same effect on an older person as ageing by 30 years.”
The charity estimates that these delays are costing the NHS more than £400,000 a day.
Age Scotland releases monthly updates on the number of people experiencing a delay in discharge from hospital at the monthly census point; on the number of hospital bed days associated with delayed discharges in the calendar month and on the number of discharges from hospital that followed a period of delay in the calendar month.
Sloan added: “It is vital that the Scottish Government and local authorities get together as a matter of urgency to ensure that more qualifies staff are recruited to help older people in need. Paying workers a fair wage and investing in a life-saving service must be made a priority to prevent a bad situation becoming even worse.”