Western Isles Health Board spent more than £1.6 million keeping patients in hospital last year despite them being fit to go home.
Figures published by the Information Services Division Scotland reveal more than half a million lost bed days throughout Scotland in 2018. The estimated cost of each day is £234 – at 7,054 lost bed days the Western Isles is proportionately one of the highest contributors.
The previous health secretary pledged to eradicate the practice of delayed discharge, but her successor Jeane Freeman has made no such commitment.