Rising numbers of NHS patients are becoming so fed up with their hospital care that they are discharging themselves against medical advice, new figures show.
Freedom of Information disclosures reveal that last year, 51,000 patients took the decision to leave hospital without being discharged by their doctors.
Experts said patients were increasingly taking matters into their own hands after becoming distressed by poor care, bureaucratic delays and enforced stays in hospital because of a lack of social care help.