The shocking case is believed to be the worst case of bed-blocking ever seen in Britain.
She was admitted to Walsall Manor Hospital with diarrhoea and vomiting in August 2015 - and remains on a ward.
The 82-year-old, who has not been named, has been cleared for discharge for more than nine months.
The 288 days are not consecutive because she went from being fit for discharge to becoming unwell again.
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust say the woman is the subject of a “complex legal case”.
They claims she remains in the hospital “in the interest of their safety and well-being”.
But local councillors and a MP have blamed funding cuts for her long stay on the ward.
Labour MP David Winnick said: “If things were as they should be then she would have been able to be discharged with all the appropriate care in place for them.
“Public services being starved of essential funding results in human misery.”
Walsall Conservative leader Mike Bird added: “This is an example of the social care crisis.
“Councils have a statutory duty on social care but the finances are such that it is actually a saving for them if people are in hospital.
“The problem the hospital has is they have to make sure when a person is discharged they are going somewhere that is safe.
“I am sure there is good reason why the patient was kept in, but it doesn’t sound good.”
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