The extent of the numbers of patients in hospitals who do not need to be there across Greater Manchester can be revealed today by startling new NHS figures.
Taking the course of a single day as a snap-shot, the Manchester Evening News can reveal 936 patients were classed by the NHS as 'no longer meeting the criteria to reside'.
But just a fraction of that amount - 122 - were discharged over the course of the day up until midnight, leaving the majority remaining in hospital taking up beds for those who were desperately sick and urgently needed them.