Hospitals in England taking care of record number of patients

Across country last month, almost 14,000 people were ready to be discharged but could not be sent home or into care

More people could be spending the time between Christmas and new year in hospital in parts of England this year than at any time in the past decade, as NHS trusts struggle to find social care places for patients medically fit for discharge.

The latest figures for December to date show an average of 94,200 patients were in hospitals across England, more than 93,000 of them in acute settings, the highest in seven winters.