Plus there are a further 4,000 around the rest of the UK - which means around one in eight beds are occupied by people who don’t necessarily need to be there.

Many of these “delayed discharge” patients are older and may be frail and living with multiple health conditions who need support in the community.

This was the case for my Dad. He’d recovered but was awaiting a place at rehabilitiation, but there weren’t any spaces (the rehab places are at care homes). The physio’s wouldn’t let him be discharged home so he was in hospital for over a week longer than he needed to be until a space opened up.