More patients ready to go home but stuck in hospital beds than actual admissions to wards this week in Greater Manchester

There were more people medically fit to go home from hospital stuck on wards than there were admissions to hospital this week in Greater Manchester. More than 900 people were classed as 'medically fit for discharge' as of January 17, the latest data available from NHS Greater Manchester.

There were 931 people medically fit for discharge from Greater Manchester as of January 17. This week, from January 11 to January 17, there were 821 admissions to hospital across Greater Manchester and 838 discharges.

The peak of the effects of last winter on the NHS saw this number rise beyond 1,000 - one key reason for people being stuck in hospital was lack of resources in social care, meaning patients cannot be allowed to leave hospital as there is no one to care for them when they are back at home or no care home space available.

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The more beds occupied by people who are medically fit enough to go home, the more people needing a hospital bed who cannot get one. This January, that has led to terrifying reports of vulnerable, elderly patients waiting more than a day for a hospital bed, often stuck on a trolley on an A&E corridor for hours on end.

Hospital bed occupancy across Greater Manchester hospitals has been on average for the period 91.2 per cent, with one day peaking at 92.1 per cent. The M.E.N. has previously reported how health leaders have said anything beyond 85 per cent of beds occupied is 'very uncomfortable for hospitals'.

January annually sees the highest levels of pressure on the NHS, including on its hospitals and emergency services. NHS Greater Manchester has said that 'a few sites remain particularly pressured with long waits at local