The unnamed woman remained stranded in hospital after her care home refused to take her back.

The BBC revealed the hospital had taken High Court action to have the woman evicted from her bed.

She has been arrested by Nottinghamshire Police over an investigation regarding her behaviour at the care home and has been housed at another service.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘This is a troubling case which shows how our broken NHS discharge system is failing vulnerable people.  

‘Our 10-Year Health Plan, backed by a £26bn boost for the NHS and social care, will shift the focus of care from hospital to community and tackle delayed discharges by improving the links between the NHS and social care.'

The DHSC said the Casey Commission which was launched in January 2024 will work to build consensus around the future of adult social care that is fair and affordable and enable a shift from hospital to community.

The timeline for the Commission has been heavily criticised with its final findings not expected until 2028.

The DHSC said a new policy framework would shortly be published for the Better Care Fund in 2025 to 2026 that will focus £9bn of NHS and local government funding on meeting two health priorities - moving care from hospital to the community and from sickness to prevention.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, told HM: 'This case graphically illustrates the interdependence between health and social care, and the Government must understand that it cannot give attention to the NHS without sorting out the long-term sustainability of social care. Until they have a long-term plan for social care, this sort of tragic case will become more and more than the norm.'