PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(19 May 2026)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of patients in NHS acute hospital beds in England whose (a) discharge and (b) onward care pathway is delayed pending a diagnostic (i) test and (ii) scan.

Asked by:
Claire Young (Liberal Democrat)

The Department does not hold data specifically on the number of acute hospital beds that are occupied by patients whose discharge or onward care pathway is delayed pending a diagnostic scan or test.

However, data is available to show the number of beds occupied by patients with a length of hospital stay of seven or more days who no longer meet the criteria to reside but were not discharged because they are awaiting a formal discharge decision, including diagnostic test results. In April 2026, there were on average 266 patients a week in England who experienced such a delay. The data is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/discharge-delays/acute-discharge-situation-report/

Answered by:
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