Topic: Man Evicted From Hospital For Blocking Bed For Two Years

[Samie]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-38680031

A hospital applied for a court order to remove a patient who had occupied a bed "unnecessarily" for more than two years.

The man, who has not been named by the hospital, had refused to leave the James Paget University Hospital in Norfolk.

The hospital said he had been "fit for discharge" and had been offered appropriate accommodation.

It said the decision to go to court was a last resort and "not taken lightly".

The man, from Suffolk, had been at the hospital in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, since August 2014.
'Using a hospital as a hotel'

A patient who had been in the same ward said it had been an "open secret" at the hospital that he had been there for more than two years.

The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she was "disgusted".

"It's ridiculous, it's using a hospital as a hotel," she said.

The hospital applied to the court for a possession order to claim back the bed occupied by the man.

It was granted on 1 December and the man was evicted on 10 January.

The Department for Health says the average daily cost of a hospital bed is about £400, meaning the man's stay at James Paget would have cost more than £300,000 for the two years.


Anna Hills, the hospital's director of governance, said: "The gentleman repeatedly refused all offers of appropriate accommodation organised by our local authority and social care partners, despite being fit for discharge.

"As a last resort, the trust had to apply to the court to allow us to remove the gentleman from the hospital.

"The decision to go to court was not taken lightly but our priority has to be considering the needs of all our patients."

The hospital said the man had been placed in accommodation in the community.
Analysis: Nick Triggle, BBC health correspondent

This is a highly unusual case and to protect the identity of the patient few details have been released so it is difficult to unpick exactly what has happened here.

However, patients choosing to stay in hospital are perhaps more common than you think.

There are more than 700 patients in English hospitals who are ready for discharge, but choose to stay or whose families want them to stay.

This is normally because the patient or their loved ones do not feel able to cope.

Hospitals work with the families to see what support can be provided in the community or simply spend a few more days or weeks caring for the patient until they feel they are fit to leave.

But with so much pressure on hospitals at the moment there is a growing need to free up beds as soon as possible.

[Lfsea]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-38680031

On the one hand, it sounds like an incredibly frustrating tale, but on the other it may say much about the state of post-operative care within the NHS. One would wonder why it's taken two years to remove him, if it was so costly. Is it a mental health / social care issue where the patient is simply unable to cope outside of a perceived 'safe' environment? Perhaps he himself has been let down, in that sense.

It's a bit of a non-story in the sense that we're told so little it's difficult to come to any conclusions. Especially when quotes like 'using the hospital as a hotel' are not actually attributed to anyone.

Also, the fact that we don't hear many stories like this probably indicate that it is very rare.

[harryc]

On the one hand, it sounds like an incredibly frustrating tale, but on the other it may say much about the state of post-operative care within the NHS. One would wonder why it's taken two years to remove him, if it was so costly. Is it a mental health / social care issue where the patient is simply unable to cope outside of a perceived 'safe' environment? Perhaps he himself has been let down, in that sense.

It's a bit of a non-story in the sense that we're told so little it's difficult to come to any conclusions. Especially when quotes like 'using the hospital as a hotel' are not actually attributed to anyone.

Also, the fact that we don't hear many stories like this probably indicate that it is very rare.

I think it may be more than common than you think, NHS are hardly going to highlight such cases.

I remember a similar case in the West Mids about 3 years ago when a man was "evicted"  from his his hospital bed after 3 Years!

[SP]

I have found a picture of the patient.

[macca007]

On the one hand, it sounds like an incredibly frustrating tale, but on the other it may say much about the state of post-operative care within the NHS. One would wonder why it's taken two years to remove him, if it was so costly. Is it a mental health / social care issue where the patient is simply unable to cope outside of a perceived 'safe' environment? Perhaps he himself has been let down, in that sense.

It's a bit of a non-story in the sense that we're told so little it's difficult to come to any conclusions. Especially when quotes like 'using the hospital as a hotel' are not actually attributed to anyone.

Also, the fact that we don't hear many stories like this probably indicate that it is very rare.

Social care funding has plummeted and so the hospitals are struggling to get rid of patients to free up beds a lot.  Never heard of 2 years before but there are patients who take advantage of the NHS being free. People have faked heart attacks to get an ambulance as they live next to the hospital so they can get a free lift home. Some people see their gp every day with minor ailments so that they can get paracetamol on a prescription  (which costs the NHS a bomb for people who don't pay for prescriptions).

[FiSh77]

don't worry, the country is fucking great again now

in a couple of years once we've got rid of those pesky europeans and sent the rest of the non brittish buggers back they'll be building a new hospital every week, there'll be that many beds they'll be wanting you to get ill and begging you not to leave when you get better

[Zeb]

The chap involved has been talking about it.

Mr Guedes said he had asked to be moved out of hospital into a "wheelchair-friendly place" and to see a spinal specialist in London for his injuries.
"I wanted to leave but they always offered what they knew I would refuse," he claimed.
The hospital insisted he had been offered appropriate accommodation.
Anna Hills, the hospital's director of governance, said Mr Guedes had "repeatedly refused all offers of appropriate accommodation organised by our local authority and social care partners, despite being fit for discharge".
The hospital also said it had worked "throughout in partnership with a range of agencies to achieve a safe discharge from the hospital".
It said "detailed planning" had taken place which "led to a successful discharge in this complex case".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-38731937

Sounds like a very extreme outlier, but does reflect difficulty of getting right help for people so they can safely be discharged from hospital - especially if they feel their needs aren't going to be met.