It’s not just a lack of social care that’s keeping older people trapped in hospital beds

‘There’s an oft-quoted saying that 10 days in a hospital bed leads to 10 years’ worth of loss of muscle mass in the over-80s.’ Photograph: David Sillitoe/The Guardian

If you’re an older person in hospital right now waiting for social care to help get you home, then you’re in trouble. A recent Guardian survey found that in some parts of the country one in three beds are occupied by people who are trapped there waiting for care to be arranged.

Many older people are stuck in a grim cycle of despair because the longer they remain in hospital, the less chance they have of living independently at home. There’s an oft-quoted saying that 10 days in a hospital bed leads to 10 years’ worth of loss of muscle mass in the over-80s.