Bed-blocking has risen more than 40 per cent in a year as hospitals continue to be overwhelmed with people needing care, figures showed on Thursday.
New data from November shows a health system under strain as it got ready to enter its busiest time ever over Christmas.
It follows warnings from the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Nursing that the NHS is now experiencing its worst ever winter crisis.
The research for England highlights acute problems with delayed discharges – where patients are medically fit to leave hospital but are stuck in beds due to problems arranging care in the community.
It follows calls from the head of the NHS for extra funding for social care.
This impacts on A&E as hospitals struggle to find beds for incoming patients.
Days lost to delayed transfers of care totalled 193,680 in November. This is the third highest number on record, and 26 per cent higher than the figure for November 2015.
Full story in The Telegraph 12 January 2017