Labour plans will tackle the ‘scandal’ of hospital corridor care, says Baillie

A Labour government in Scotland would purchase hundreds of temporary care home places in a bid to free up hospital spaces, party deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie has pledged.

She vowed the party would also create 1,000 more packages for Scots to receive care at home.

The Scottish Labour deputy said these would create much needed “breathing space” for hospitals that are currently “filled to bursting”.

The commitments came ahead of Dame Jackie’s speech to the Scottish Labour conference, which is underway in Glasgow.

Leader Anas Sarwar has already vowed to do “what ever it takes to fix the NHS”, with Dame Jackie to use her conference address to set out measures to improve social care.

It comes after the figures for December 2024 showed there were 1,890 people in Scotland’s hospitals who were medically well enough to be discharged – with many of this group waiting for care arrangements to be made.

Labour, however, believes purchasing temporary care home places, and boosting the number of care at home packages that are available, could free up thousands of hospital beds.

This, is turn, could improve waiting times in hospital accident and emergency units, as more patients would be able to be admitted for treatment.

Speaking about the proposals ahead of Saturday’s conference address Baillie said: “When there is no safe way to leave hospital, it’s no wonder that wards are filled to bursting.”

However, she added: “This intervention will create the breathing space needed to deliver a sustainable path between health and social care.

“It will free up hospital beds and tackle the scandal of corridor care where patients wait eight hours or more to be seen.

“It will also take much-needed action in expanding care packages at home, which are essential in allowing people to return to their own community.”

Baillie said these measures would be the “first steps towards creating a social care sector for the future, where patients can leave hospital knowing they will be comfortable, cared for, and supported to live independently”.

Her comments came after Sarwar said a Scottish Labour government would “tackle the crisis in social care” and would “deliver a proper National Care Service”.

Former SNP first minister Nicola Sturgeon had promised to set up such a body in the wake of the Covid pandemic, but the Scottish Government plans for this stalled following opposition at Holyrood, from Scotland’s councils and from trade unions.

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “We know that too many patients are staying in hospital longer than is medically necessary and we have a clear plan to reduce delayed discharge.

“Our Budget for 2025-26 will provide £200m to help clear waiting list backlogs, improve capacity and remove blockages that keep some patients in hospital longer than they need to be, and I would hope that would be supported across the Parliament in the Budget vote next week.”