Mental Health Inpatient Census 2025 Part 3 - HBCCC and Long stay

Hospital-based complex clinical care and Long-stay census

Number of HBCCC and Long Stay Patients in Census

In the 2025 Census, a total of 1084 patients were classified as Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care (HBCCC) or Long Stay patients. Out of these, 379 (35%) were receiving HBCCC, and 705 (65%) were Long Stay patients. Long Stay refers to patients in the hospital for at least 6 months with no delayed-discharge date but not receiving HBCCC.

Of these 1084 patients, 923 (85%) were in Mental Health, Learning Disability, or Addiction Inpatient Beds in NHS Scotland facilities. 64 (6%) were in General Acute or Community Hospital NHS Scotland facilities. 97 (9%) were treated outwith but funded by NHS Scotland (e.g., private hospitals or non-NHS Scotland UK facilities). There are also a very small number of patients treated within NHS Scotland but funded externally.

Please note: The numbers provided in this publication for HBCCC patients may not match those in the Mental Health Inpatient Census parts 1 & 2. This is because in Parts 1 & 2, only HBCCC patients with mental health diagnoses are considered. In this report (Part 3), all HBCCC patients are included in the figures.

Table 1: Patients in mental health beds make up the majority of HBCCC and long stay patients

Number of HBCCC and long stay patients by census part, Mental health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, NHS Scotland, 2025.

Census	HBCCC	Long Stay	Total
Part 3: HBCCC & LS (general acute)	10	54	64
Part 1: Mental Health Bed Census	353	570	923
Part 2: Outwith NHS Scotland Placements	16	81	97
All patients in HBCCC and Long-stay Inpatient Census	379	705	1084

Age and sex

Figure 2 shows the age and sex breakdown of patients receiving HBCCC at the 2025 Census. 236 (62%) were male and 142 (37%) were female. A majority of HBCCC patients, 214 (57%), were aged 65+.

Figure 2: HBCCC patients were most commonly male and aged 65 and over

Mental health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census by age group and sex, NHS Scotland, 2025

Figure 3 shows the age and sex breakdown of long-stay patients at the 2025 Census. Some key points include:

• 461 (65%) Long Stay Patients were male, and 243 (34 %) were female.
• The largest age category of Long Stay Patients, 300 (42%), was the 40-64 group.
• 169 (24%) were aged 65 or over, and 236 (33%) were under 40.

Figure 3: Long stay patients were most commonly male and aged 40-64 years

Long stay patients by age group and sex, Mental health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, NHS Scotland, 2025

 

Ethnicity

At the 2025 Census, where known, most HBCCC or Long Stay patients described themselves as White Scottish (75%). An additional 9% were White Other British, while 4% described themselves as White.

Figure 4: The majority of HBCCC and Long Stay patients were White Scottish

Number of HBCCC and Long Stay patients by ethnicity, Mental Health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, NHS Scotland, 2025

* Data was missing or refused for 97 patients.

** Numbers less than 5 have been suppressed to protect data confidentiality

Consultant Specialty

For the 379 HBCCC patients at the Census, 188 (50%) were under the care of a consultant in Psychiatry of Old Age, 93 (25%) in General Psychiatry, and 36 (9%) in Forensic Psychiatry.

Figure 5: Half of HBCCC patients were under the care of a Psychiatry of Old Age consultant

Number of HBCCC patients by consultant specialty, Mental Health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, NHS Scotland, 2025

* Other includes a range of specialties with small numbers of patients that have been aggregated to protect patient confidentiality.

** Data on Consultant Specialty was unknown for 28 patients.

For the 705 Long Stay patients at the Census, 270 (38%) were under the care of a consultant in General Psychiatry, 144 (20%) in Forensic Psychiatry, and 114 (16%) in Psychiatry of Old Age.

Figure 6: Around one in five Long Stay patients were under the care of a General Psychiatry consultant

Number of Long Stay patients by consultant specialty, Mental Health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, NHS Scotland, 2025

* Other includes a range of specialties with small numbers of patients that have been aggregated to protect patient confidentiality.

** Data on Consultant Specialty was unknown for 20 patients.

NHS Board Breakdown

HBCCC Patients

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde funded 29% of HBCCC patients, followed by NHS Lothian with 26%.

Figure 7: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian funded the greatest number of HBCCC patients

Number of HBCCC patients by NHS Board responsible for funding, Mental Health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, NHS Scotland, 2025

 

* Other includes Boards where numbers were too small to present individually.

NHS Tayside had the highest rate of HBCCC patients at 13 per 100,000 population.

Figure 8: NHS Tayside funded the highest rate of HBCCC patients per 100,000 population

Rate of HBCCC patients per 100,000 population by NHS Board responsible for funding, Mental Health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, NHS Scotland, 2025

* Excludes Health Boards with numbers less than 10 to protect data confidentiality.

Long Stay Patients

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde were responsible for funding the treatment of 210 long-stay patients (30%). NHS Lothian funded the next highest number of long-stay patients with 91 (13%).

Figure 9: NHS greater Glasgow and Clyde funded the greatest number of long stay patients

Number of long stay patients by NHS board responsible for funding, Mental Health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, Scotland, 2025

* Other includes Boards where numbers were too small to present individually

NHS Western Isles had the highest funding rate for long stay patients at 19 per 100,000 population. NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde funded the next highest rate at 17 per 100,000 population.

Figure 10: NHS Western Isles and NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde funded the highest rates of long stay patients per 100,000

Rate of long stay patients per 100,000 population by NHS Board responsible for funding, Mental Health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, NHS Scotland, 2025

* Excludes Health Boards with numbers less than 10 to protect data confidentiality.

Local Authority Breakdown

Figures 11 and 12 provide analysis of patients in receipt of HBCCC or were Long Stay patients by Local Authority of residence. This is based on the patient’s home postcode. City of Edinburgh had the highest number of HBCCC patients (67, 18%), while Glasgow City had the highest number of Long Stay patients (112, 16%).

Figure 11: City of Edinburgh had the highest number of HBCCC patients

Number of HBCCC patients by local authority of home postcode, Mental Health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, NHS Scotland, 2025

* Excludes Local Authorities where numbers were too small to present individually

** Information was unknown for 38 patients

Figure 12: Glasgow City had the highest number of long stay patients

Number of long stay patients by local authority of home postcode, Mental Health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, NHS Scotland, 2025

* Excludes Local Authorities where numbers were too small to present individually

** Information was unknown for 74 patients

Length of Stay

Average time in hospital for HBCCC patients was approximately one year and 3 months. For Long Stay patients, the average time in hospital was approximately one year five and a half months.

Table 2: The largest group by length-of-stay of HBCCC and Long-stay patients had been in hospital for between one and five years.

Length of stay, HBCCC and long stay patients, Mental Health Inpatient Census and HBCCC Census, NHS Scotland 2025

Length of Stay	HBCCC Patients	Long-stay Patients
Less than 2 weeks	10	n/a
2 weeks or more, less than 1 month	14	n/a
1 month or more, less than 3 months	37	n/a
3 months or more, less than 6 months	30	n/a
6 months or more, less than 1 year	68	246
1 year or more, less than 5 years	170	331
5 years or over	49	128

* Data was missing for one HBCCC patient.

Health Conditions

NHS Boards were asked to return information on any health conditions a patient had been diagnosed with. Mental Health was the most prevalent condition reported for both HBCCC patients (97%) and Long Stay patients (94%) in the 2025 Census.

Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) and Urban / Rural classification

Of the 277 HBCCC patients who had a valid postcode, 70 (25%) came from the most deprived 20% of areas (as measured by SIMD) and 39 (14%) from the least deprived. 140 (51%) were from Large Urban Areas, 89 (32%) were from Other Urban Areas, 18 (6%) from Accessible Small Towns and 17 (6%) were from Accessible Rural Areas.

Of the 494 Long Stay patients who had a valid postcode, 188 (38%) came from the most deprived 20% of areas and 48 (10%) from the least deprived. 220 (45%) were from Large Urban Areas, 165 (33%) were from Other Urban Areas (33%), 38 (8%) from Accessible Rural Areas and 37 (7%) were from Accessible Small Towns.