Jamie Reed MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Minister, responding to reports in the Times of 195,000 patients moved or discharged in the middle of the night, said:

“This growing practice is undignified and unfair on vulnerable patients, especially the elderly.

"Hospitals clearly aren’t coping with the pressure they are under. David Cameron’s decision to waste £3bn on an NHS reorganisation while social care support is stripped back have left wards struggling to discharge older people back home. Wards are full to bursting and these patients are paying a heavy price.

"Ministers were warned about this two years ago. They took no action and the problem has deepened. The Government must take responsibility and get a grip - patients deserve better.”