Hospital’s ‘discharge procedure’ of vulnerable 92 year old was ‘reckless’

A hospital has been severely criticised for ‘recklessly’ discharging a vulnerable 92-year-old patient in the early hours of the morning.

The 92-year-old woman, who lives in the Monmouth constituency, was recently discharged from the Grange Hospital’s A&E department in the early hours of the morning, meaning she did not arrive at her house until 4am.

But the ordeal was made even worse when the lady’s partner – also 92 and susceptible to falling – had no prior knowledge of the discharge, until receiving a phone call at 3am, and when she did arrive home the couple received insufficient help.

Speaking of the ordeal today in the Senedd, Peter Fox, the Member of the Senedd for Monmouth and Shadow Minister for Finance, said: “This ordeal is truly horrifying and one that should never have happened. The lack of common sense in this case is staggering which, undoubtedly, caused huge levels of stress and anxiety to both people.

“And, to make matters worse, the stresses did not end at the hospital – the couple did not receive sufficient help when she arrived home, resulting in the partner having to use a rollator to get in to bed.

“I appreciate that hospitals are coming under significant pressures, but basic principles – such as kindness and compassion – are fundamental to the very existence of our cherished NHS. Without these, there is no NHS.

“This recent case shows that Ministers must do more to ensure our NHS’ key processes do not descend into factory-mode.

“I will strive to ensure the Welsh Government works more closely with its partners in the NHS to ensure that such a reckless incident does not happen again.”