The drive to cut NHS waiting lists is being hampered by bed-blockers who now cost taxpayers more than £2billion a year, a study reveals.
More than 12,000 hospital beds every day are occupied by patients who no longer have a medical need to remain but are unable to leave.
The huge scale of the crisis - equivalent to closing 26 entire hospitals - is forcing managers to cancel operations and fuelling ambulance delays as there are so few beds for new admissions.
A total of 15.7million bed days have been lost to bed-blocking over the past three-and-a-half years, according to new analysis of NHS figures.
This averages 12,008 beds per day over the study period but the problem has significantly worsened during this time - soaring 59% from an average of 8,039 per day in April 2021 to 12,772 in April 2024.
Many of those stuck on wards are waiting for a place in a care home or for a package of care to be arranged in their own home.
Charities warn the longer elderly people remain in hospital the more they deteriorate and the greater they risk they will never regain independence.
Source: The Daily Mail, 31 December 2024
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