Midnight discharge at Colchester Hospital unacceptable - family

Lack of beds in the NHS and social care sector have been highlighted by the case of an 81-year-old woman discharged home at night, her family said.

Janice Field attended Colchester Hospital in Essex with a suspected heart attack.

She was returned to her flat at midnight, despite having no home care at that time of day.

The hospital trust said it focused on keeping patients safe and was "sorry to hear about the concerns raised".

Ms Field was checked out at the hospital last week and deemed fit to go home, but her family said she should have stayed in hospital overnight, or be found a community care bed.

Her daughter-in-law, Sarah Field, a qualified nurse, said: "To discharge an 81-year-old lady and have them having to be transferred in the middle of the night is totally unacceptable.

"But the nurse we spoke to was emphatic. She was desperate. She said, 'no, we have no beds. This has got to happen. She's clinically fit. She has got to go'.

"Older people have paid their dues into society. They have worked hard. They need more respect than this.

"The NHS is broken, under-resourced and not fit for purpose. This is not the fault of those that work in it, but the fault of the system."

Ruth French, operations director for Stow Healthcare, which runs Brandon Park and other care homes in Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex, said: "I think there are significant breakdowns in the system at the moment.

"The clear evidence for this is that we have hospital wards that are chock-a-block.

"That position is only going to get worse through winter and we know there are beds sitting available in most care homes where those people can be better looked after."

Stow Healthcare said it paid a living wage to attract workers, but it struggled to offer council-funded placements.

"This room is rented out for £1,200 a week. Social service rates pay a little over half of that," said Ms French.

"The cost of providing quality care is really high and there has been a massive hike in energy prices we have all seen this year."

Colin Noble, a Conservative member of Tory-run Suffolk County Council, and a representative of the County Councils Network, said local authorities were also being stretched financially in the provision of social care.

"All the time we are playing a little bit of catch-up and are always short of the funding we need for the services we would all want in our older life," he said.

A spokeswoman for the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs Colchester and Ipswich hospitals, said in response to Mrs Field's concerns: "We are doing everything we can to respond to the high demand for our services, care, and treatment across our communities and to deliver the best possible care.

"Keeping our patients safe is always our focus."

'Very sorry'

Dr Angela Tillett, chief medical officer at ESNEFT, said: "We were very sorry to hear about the concerns raised with the BBC by the family of Mrs Field about her care.

"Our dedicated patient advice and liaison service (PALS) is here to help anyone who has feedback about their experiences in our hospitals and they can liaise with clinical colleagues on a patient's behalf."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "We have prioritised health and social care in the Autumn Statement, with up to £7.5bn available over the next two years to support adult social care services - equivalent to 200,000 additional care packages and the biggest funding increase in history.

"The NHS is also creating the equivalent of 7,000 more beds this winter - enabling hospitals to treat patients sooner, including by using remote monitoring to provide care at home or in the community."

You can see more on this story on Politics East on BBC One on Sunday, 27 November at 10:00 GMT, with it also available on BBC iPlayer afterwards.

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