On a point of order, Presiding Officer.
Good afternoon. Richard Simpson has a point of order.
My apologies for anticipating your greetings to members.
At First Minister’s questions, Nicola Sturgeon said in respect of delayed discharges:
“Having delivered the target of zero delays of over six weeks, we have progressively toughened the target ... We are now focusing on ensuring that patients are discharged within 72 hours.”
Figures obtained from the Information Services Division show that, between July 2012 and August 2015, there were 4,785 occasions on which a patient was delayed for more than six weeks when they were ready for discharge. There has not been one month since July 2012 in which that target of zero delays has been delivered. In the past two months, 191 and 195 patients were delayed for more than six weeks.
Presiding Officer, in the interests of openness and transparency, will you invite the First Minister to correct the Official Report?
Thank you, Dr Simpson, and thank you for advance notice of the point that you wanted to make.
As you will be aware, I am not responsible for the accuracy of members’ contributions in the chamber. However, you will also be aware that there is a mechanism for any member to correct the record if they wish to do so and if they feel it necessary.