How would
you feel if you discovered that your elderly relative had been sent home from
hospital in the middle of the night and left to make their own way home?
According to the Times Newspaper this is happening to an alarming number of
patients. According to some reports the figures could be as high as 8,000 a
week.
Now some
patients can cope with this. Following the birth of both of my sons I was quite
happy to make my own way home. But it wasn’t easy getting a taxi at 4.00am and
I would certainly be worried if my 85 year old mother was left to go home on
the night bus.
The figures
will include elderly and vulnerable patients who will have little or no support
to get them home and to help them when they get there.
This is not
only scandalous, it is also potentially negligent. If a hospital sends home a
clearly vulnerable patient without appropriate support, and the patient suffers
harm, then there is a potential claim for damages for negligence.
The NHS has
acknowledged that this practice is unacceptable. Medical director Sir Bruce
Keogh has told the Guardian –
"As health professionals we all agree that patients
should be treated with compassion, so it is simply not acceptable to send
people home from hospital late at night when they may have no family members
nearby to support them,"
This
illustrates an important issue. If the injured patient sues for damages then
there is a risk that they will somehow be made to feel responsible. That they
are draining money from the NHS. That they are part of a compensation culture.
The reality is that this is a simple case of neglect which can be easily
remedied – don’t do it.
It has
often been the case that it is only when legal claims are pursued that failings
come to light and standards improve. But we should not have to wait until the
damage is done.
Whilst
there may well be legal claims most people would prefer not to be placed in
that position in the first place.
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