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Anger of Helmsley gran sent home from hospital at 2am
A FURIOUS woman is asking for a review of Scarborough Hospital's discharge policy after her 81-year-old mother was left to find her own way home to Helmsley at 2am.
After being taken to hospital by ambulance at about 10pm, grandmother Pamela Mercer was discharged in the early hours, and, wearing a nightie and dressing gown, was left to make her own way to her home – 36 miles away in Helmsley.
Mrs Mercer, who had gone to hospital suffering acute pain due to a kidney infection, paid 40 for a taxi home.
Mrs Mercer's daughter Lesley Wray, who works at Scarborough's Probation Service, said she could not believe the way her mother was treated.
"I could not believe she was just turfed out like that, especially at that time in the morning. It is just disgusting," she said.
"She was taken to hospital in terrible pain at around 10pm, and wasn't seen for a few hours. I assumed she would be kept in overnight as it was so late, and went to bed expecting her to be coming out some time the next day.
"Not only was she discharged wearing nothing but her nightie and dressing gown in the middle of the night, she had to get in a taxi and travel all the way back to Helmsley with a taxi driver who didn't know where he was going.
"There was no follow-up care either. No-one asked her if she had anyone to look after her at home. It was as if they just wanted to get her out the door as quickly as possible."
Speaking about Mrs Mercer's discharge, a Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust spokesman said: "Patient safety and welfare remains our top priority.
"As well as ensuring patients are medically safe to be discharged from A&E we also have a duty of care to make sure they have a safe environment to go home to and a safe means of transport to get there – although it is not our responsibility to fund travel home from hospital.
"We have recently introduced a Discharge of Vulnerable Adults Proforma which is completed before a vulnerable adult is discharged from A&E.
"As this patient was medically fit to return home and was able to make an informed choice about her discharge, choosing to go home in a taxi, she was discharged.
"We encourage patients to raise any issues that they might have about their discharge with staff at the time so their concerns can be immediately addressed."
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Send a letter to andrew.pitt@yrnltd.co.uk or Contact 01653 600051 ext 6
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Friday 25 May 2012
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