This is similar to the policy of having wards chock a block full every day and night and what do we get? Tired nurses, patients mixed up on inappropriate wards, MRSA, C diff. When I started nursing we used to use the spare time for cleaning and tidying and preparing for the next onslaught. Nowadays patients are chucked out before they are well enough (often readmitted) and the staff are at full stretch because none of the patients can do much self caring. This isn't that recent, my Mum was in a bed next to a skin graft patient when she had pneumonia and that was about 16 years ago. As you say, what works in a rural area won't necessarily work in an urban one. We need to get rid of targets and get some common sense instead!