Social care crisis ‘piling pressure on NHS ’, warns Jackie Baillie

Scottish Labour has warned that a crisis in social care is “piling pressure” on the NHS.  

It comes as the number of people waiting for care packages and assessments has increased, with the latest figures showing over 9,300 Scots are waiting for a social care assessment or a care at home package.

Over the last year, the demand for social care has risen significantly, with the estimated number of hours people waited to receive a care package or assessment up by 26 per cent since 2026.

According to Public Health Scotland figures, the total estimated weekly hours of care they were waiting to receive was 33,140 as of the beginning of June. In May 2025, the figure was 26,219 hours.  

Scottish Labour’s warning comes as figures published last week showed this year is the worst A&E performance for any May on record, while there was also a rise in delayed discharge compared to the previous year.

The party has said these trends demonstrate the pressure social care waits are putting on hospitals.

Scottish Labour health and social care spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “Thousands of Scots are stuck in limbo waiting for the social care support they need to live their lives.

“Social care is at breaking point, and it is piling pressure on our entire NHS.

“We will never fix the chaos in our NHS without dealing with the crisis in social care.

“The SNP needs to properly support social care services and deliver fair pay and conditions for workers.”