The new guideline aims to ensure people with social care needs in hospital get the support they need to leave hospital in a timely manner. The guideline will also help to avoid repeated hospital stays. In its press release, NICE noted that delays in the discharge of patients place a huge burden on the NHS, with figures from NHS England showing that more than a million hospital days were lost due to delayed discharges over the past year. In September, 5,247 patients were delayed from being discharged, which is the highest monthly figure so far in 2015.