NEW figures have revealed 1363 elderly patients were turfed out from hospital at night by NHS Fife last year.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that from April 2013 to March 2014, the health board sent home 996 patients over 65, and a further 367 aged over 80, between 9pm-9am.

However, NHS Fife did not provide the total number of patients discharged during those hours.

The figures, obtained by the Scottish Lib Dems, showed that more than 20,000 patients – including 2641 aged over 80 – were discharged late at night by Scotland’s health boards in the past year.

The information comes in the wake of the shocking case of Graeme Aitken (66), who was dumped by a taxi at his Rosyth home around 4.20am on 14th March.

He had been rushed to the Victoria Hospital just hours earlier, and the Press revealed exclusively how his wife Wendy found him in the front garden disoriented and distressed and shouting for help.

Former Lib Dem councillor Mr Aitken (66), who was blind and seriously ill, told his wife he felt like he was going to die and she immediately sent for another ambulance to take him back to the Vic where he passed away the next day.

And two months after Mr Aitken died, NHS Fife sent him a bill chasing him for the taxi fare.

In a statement this week, the Scottish Lib Dems also revealed that the online system used to monitor patient records does not record the specific time the patient was discharged but instead reflects when the data was entered into the system.

Jim Hume MSP, the party’s health spokesperson, called for action and warned, “It’s concerning that the patient records system means so many health boards are unable to provide clarity over the true scale of late night discharges.

“This is unacceptable and prevents hospitals from providing the highest standard of care to patients.” Commenting, associate director of nursing, Morag Gardner, said, “The majority of patient discharges take place before midnight.

"However, discharges taking place after 9pm generally involve patients who are leaving admissions units and have been admitted, seen by a doctor, and subsequently deemed suitable to return home the same day.

“Importantly, our discharge process assesses each patient’s individual needs and consults with them directly to ensure that their discharge is not only safe, but appropriate.

"Furthermore, NHS Fife aims to ensure that there is a suitable person to receive the patient as they return home and we are actively engaging with a local befriending service to accompany patients in instances where they may not have anyone at home upon discharge.” Ms Gardner added, “NHS Fife recognises that there are improvements that can be made in the way that discharge data is recorded, particularly around delays in real-time data entry.

"However, we are continually assessing new processes that aim to increase data accuracy regarding discharge, and all overnight discharges are monitored and reviewed on a regular basis.

"Moreover, the clinical governance committee has reviewed the number of overnight discharges and has reported satisfaction that these were reasonable.”