Owl says: In the past many of these patients would have been transferred to local community hospitals, where they would be rehabilitated to go home or moved to local facilities, leaving RDE to use the unblocked beds for new acute patients:
“With elderly patients often stuck waiting to be signed off, there is concern over the impact delays can have on their health.
According to the NHS, a hospital stay of more than 10 days for a person over 80 can lead to 10 years of muscle ageing.
NHS England figures show that in February, patients at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust spent a total of 1,398 days waiting to be discharged or transferred to a different care facility. …”
https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/bed-blocking-at-the-royal-devon-and-exeter-trust-1-6042162
East Devon Watch 
My aunt is just about to leave hospital having broken her leg. She is bed bound and cannot put weight on it for several more weeks.
The default position is for them to put a hospital bed and a hoist in her lounge, and provide a carer for 1/2 hour 4x a day to come in and change her nappy and give her food. For the remainder of the day she would be alone at home, unable to move, unable to get help if she needed it, sat in her soiled nappy waiting for the next carer to come in a few hours time.
She would also have to wait for several weeks on a waiting list for Physio Therapy, whilst her muscles wasted and her leg stiffened completely.
THAT IS THE REALITY OF HEALTHCARE IN THE 6TH RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD BECAUSE OF THE WIDENING GAP BETWEEN THE VERY RICH AND THE REST OF US.
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This so called ‘care’ is cruelty and neglect- legalised!
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