The proportion of medically fit patients leaving hospitals in England has fallen to a new low, figures show.
The north west has the worst rates of medically fit patients being discharged last week as the NHS crisis rages on across the country, according to data analysis by the PA news agency. Hospitals have faced a growing struggle in recent months to discharge people who are well enough to leave, often because there is not enough support in place from local providers of social care.
Delays in freeing up beds have a knock-on effect for admissions, leading to many patients being kept waiting in ambulances before being handed over to A&E teams.
