Delayed hospital discharges: total pathway of care delays and total days delayed, April 2023 onwards

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Data valuesData descriptionLocal health boardlocal authority of residenceReason for delayDate
2,292count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingMay 2025
22count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment through the language of choiceDecember 2024
2,045count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationDecember 2024
3,338count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingApril 2025
4,130count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentNovember 2024
102count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment through the language of choiceAugust 2024
2,797count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationAugust 2023
1,200count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationNovember 2024
4,967count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingDecember 2023
2,868count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingMarch 2025
4,475count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentMarch 2024
4,561count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentOctober 2024
2,546count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentJune 2025
50count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment through the language of choiceApril 2024
14,560count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment IssuesMay 2025
2,567count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationJuly 2023
3,028count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationMarch 2024
1,261count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationOctober 2024
6,763count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingApril 2023
4,883count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingNovember 2023
3,982count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingJuly 2024
2,469count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingFebruary 2025
4,477count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentOctober 2023
4,686count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentFebruary 2024
5,355count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentJune 2024
4,395count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentSeptember 2024
5,644count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentFebruary 2025
2,884count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentMay 2025
23count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment through the language of choiceMay 2023
63count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment through the language of choiceMarch 2024
20,141count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment IssuesJanuary 2025
17,523count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment IssuesApril 2025
17,096count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment IssuesAugust 2025
5,124count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationJune 2023
1,697count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationNovember 2023
2,653count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationFebruary 2024
1,797count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationJune 2024
1,613count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationSeptember 2024
1,222count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationMarch 2025
3,682count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment by social careAugust 2025
4,899count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingJuly 2023
3,831count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingOctober 2023
5,275count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingMarch 2024
2,323count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingJune 2024
2,874count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingOctober 2024
2,914count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingJanuary 2025
2,466count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingAugust 2025
2,998count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentSeptember 2023
3,477count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentDecember 2023
4,584count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentJanuary 2024
5,233count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentApril 2024
5,436count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentMay 2024
3,755count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentJuly 2024
5,158count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentAugust 2024
2,711count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentDecember 2024
4,279count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentJanuary 2025
4,033count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentMarch 2025
2,424count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentApril 2025
2,938count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentJuly 2025
3,768count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentAugust 2025
54count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment through the language of choiceJuly 2023
27count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment through the language of choiceJanuary 2024
16,381count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment IssuesNovember 2024
16,474count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment IssuesDecember 2024
18,821count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment IssuesFebruary 2025
18,276count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment IssuesMarch 2025
16,214count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment IssuesJune 2025
16,430count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment IssuesJuly 2025
7,732count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationApril 2023
5,603count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationMay 2023
2,106count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationSeptember 2023
1,986count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationOctober 2023
1,332count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationDecember 2023
1,776count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationJanuary 2024
2,976count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationApril 2024
1,518count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationMay 2024
1,869count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationJuly 2024
1,555count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationAugust 2024
2,209count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationJanuary 2025
1,293count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting Social worker allocationFebruary 2025
4,279count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment by social careJune 2025
4,804count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment by social careJuly 2025
7,003count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingMay 2023
6,477count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingJune 2023
4,276count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingAugust 2023
4,915count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingSeptember 2023
4,141count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingJanuary 2024
4,288count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingFebruary 2024
3,723count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingApril 2024
2,897count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingMay 2024
3,233count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingAugust 2024
4,903count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingSeptember 2024
3,360count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingNovember 2024
4,020count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingDecember 2024
2,161count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingJune 2025
2,149count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting completion of assessment NursingJuly 2025
2,304count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentJuly 2023
3,478count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentAugust 2023
4,361count of days delayedWalesWalesAwaiting joint assessmentNovember 2023
66count of days delayedWalesWalesAssessment through the language of choiceJanuary 2025
Showing 1 to 100 of 100,416 rows
Page 1 of 1005

Main information

Most recent update
26 September 2025
Next update expected
23 October 2025
Designation
Official statistics
Data provider
NHS Delivery Unit
Data source
Pathways of Care Delays

Data notes

Overview

Summary of dataset and variables

The Pathway of Care Delays data identifies patients with a discharge delay, and the reason for the delay, at a given point each month.

A delayed discharge occurs when a patient who is clinically ready for discharge cannot leave hospital because the necessary ongoing care and support or suitable accommodation for them is not yet accessible.

The data represent the number of adults occupying an NHS hospital bed, who were 'clinically optimised' 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 for local health board provider, relates to the local health board where the service was being provided and where the delay was experienced. This will include data from patients who reside from areas outside of the local health boards usual coverage. E.g. a service could be provided in the Cardiff and Vale health board, but the patient may reside in Bridgend (which is usually covered by Cwm Taf Morgannwg).

Data collection or calculation

Data are provided by Local Health Boards and validated jointly with Local Authority partners.

The Pathway of Care Delays is a snapshot census that identifies people with a discharge delay and reason at a given point each month. Health Boards are required to extract the data from local systems on a census day in each month, and validate the delays with Local Authority partners. Subsequently, data records are entered via a web-based tool and submitted to NHS Wales.

Statistical quality

Data are provided by Local Health Boards and validated jointly with Local Authority partners.

The Pathway of Care Delays is a snapshot census that identifies people with a discharge delay and reason at a given point each month. Health Boards are required to extract the data from local systems on a census day in each month, and validate the delays with Local Authority partners. Subsequently, data records are entered via a web-based tool and submitted to NHS Wales.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Welsh Government suspended delayed transfers of care (DTOC) reporting requirements, along with many other datasets. The Welsh Government introduced the COVID-19 Discharge Requirements, which included an updated discharge process with increased focus on rehabilitation and reablement to improve patient flow and support better outcomes. From July 2020, delayed discharge data were collected as management information on a weekly basis. These data were not formally validated. Subsequently a formal replacement, Pathways of Care Delays (POCD) has been developed and tested to replace DTOC. This system has now been rolled out across all Local Health Boards & Local Authorities and the first fully validated and quality assured data are available from april 2023. Welsh Government discharge guidance (COVID-19 Discharge Requirements) sets out the default approach to hospital discharges – the Discharge to Recover then Assess (D2RA) pathways (or 'recovery pathways').

The D2RA approach is based on evidence of better outcomes for people who transfer as soon as possible to their usual residence or other suitable care setting for rehabilitation or reablement prior to assessments for longer term care. A D2RA pathway (or recovery pathway) could be in a person’s own home, in a community hospital or in an alternative step-down setting.

Related reports

Published by

Organisation
Welsh Government
Contact email
stats.healthinfo@gov.wales

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