Every single elderly patient on a ward at an under pressure hospital was ready to be discharged but could not leave because there was no community support available for them.

The incident emerged during an unannounced inspection by the watchdog Healthwatch at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

The team also found staffing levels were a constant challenge at the hospital and employees reported there were times they felt the wards were understaffed.

The team visited Overton, Emerald and Chichester wards along with the acute medical unit (AMU) in January, when the hospital was experiencing a high demand for services. They found 50 per cent of patients on Emerald and Chichester wards were ready to leave but on Overton ward it was 100 per cent.

Delays were caused by waiting for a package of care, transport, or medicine to be arranged or for a community bed to become available.

A joint report published by Healthwatch Brighton and Hove and Healthwatch East Sussex said that overall, staff demonstrated a caring attitude and attention to their patients, particularly during mealtimes.

However workers on the AMU felt only about a third of patients were appropriately placed there but they could not be transferred onto a ward because of a lack of available beds.

Staff shortages sometimes compromised staff’s ability to give comprehensive care, particularly one-to-one support, and care for people suffering from dementia.

Healthwatch Brighton and Hove chairwoman Frances McCabe, said: “We plan more visits to monitor the care of older people at the hospital.

“If you have concerns or experiences you want to share, please contact your local Healthwatch. We are here to listen.”

In its response to the report, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust said: “Delayed transfers of care are not always social care delays. They are often caused by lack of community provision or the ever increasing challenge of working with families or carers, some of whom are less keen to see their relatives discharged from hospital.

“The trust now has a care home liaison support worker in post whose remit is to work with families to ensure a safe and timely transition into an on-going care facility takes place.

“Nurse staffing levels have been challenging over the past six months.

“Any area that falls significantly below their planned levels of staffing or have a significant increase in acuity and dependency, efforts are made to redeploy staff from another area or, when possible get bank or agency nurses.”