- Arthur Wilson, 95, was left in the discharge lounge at Warrington Hospital
- He was wearing just his pyjamas and a dressing gown, draped in a blanket
- His daughters are outraged, claiming he was left freezing and in agony
- He suffers Paget’s disease, a painful bone disorder, which means he should not be left sitting in a wheelchair for long periods of time
- Delay caused by medication hold-up and difficulty locating an ambulance
- His daughter Lynda Pennington was forced to take him home in a cab
- Family ‘disgusted’ after discovering a ‘do not resuscitate’ order was placed on Mr Wilson’s file without their being consulted
- Ambulance service has apologised for the delay in transportation
- Hospital spokesman said the family’s complaint is being investigatedÂ
Lizzie Parry for MailOnline
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Huddled in a wheelchair, wearing just his pyjamas and a thin dressing gown, a filmsy blanket draped over him.Â
Stranded, ‘in agony’, freezing and longing for a bite to eat.
That was how 95-year-old Arthur Wilson was found, 10 hours after he was told he was to be discharged from Warrington Hospital after suffering from pneumonia.Â
The great-grandfather, who was waiting to be taken back to his care home, was found in the ‘freezing’ discharge lounge, where he had been left all day.
His daughters said they are ‘outraged’ after seeing their elderly father, who had been admitted two weeks earlier, sitting in his pyjamas covered with a single blanket.
Arthur Wilson was found by his family 10 hours after he was told he was to be discharged from Warrington Hospital after suffering pneumonia. The 95-year-old was huddled in a wheelchair, wearing just his pyjamas and a thin dressing gown, with a filmsy blanket draped over him
They said they are ‘disgusted’ after discovering a ‘do not resuscitate’ order had been placed on Mr Wilson’s notes without his family being consulted.
Mr Wilson, who suffers Paget’s disease – a painful bone disorder – had not been fed all day and was left ‘in agony’ from sitting in his wheelchair.
His daughter Elaine Naylor, 61, an NHS worker, said: ‘I was incensed and didn’t realise how ill he looked until I saw the photo.
‘The matron of the discharge lounge couldn’t apologise enough but somebody should have realised he had been there a long time and organised something else. Â
‘It’s just about showing some compassion.’
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Mr Wilson was left waiting in the discharge lounge due to delays getting medication, which took from 9.40am to 12.20pm last Tuesday.
Hospital staff then struggled to locate an ambulance to take the grandfather-of-four back to the Ferndale Care Home in Widnes, Cheshire – just 4.5 miles away.
During his 10-hour wait, Mr Wilson, who hadn’t eaten since breakfast, was offered a sandwich but refused it because he was on a puréed diet.
His daughter Lynda Pennington, 63, said she was ‘horrified’ when she arrived at the hospital and saw how her father looked.
She said: ‘On Tuesday morning he was moved to the discharge lounge and he had to wait for his medication before he was able to leave.
‘I didn’t hear anything so at 3pm I phoned and they assured me he’d be home in the next couple of hours.
‘When I phoned about 5.40pm and he was still waiting for an ambulance, I went to the hospital to bring him home myself.
‘When I saw him he looked awful. All the windows were open and he was freezing cold so I asked for another blanket.
The great-grandfather, pictured with his daughter Lynda Pennington, was waiting to be taken back to his care home when Mrs Pennington found him in the ‘freezing’ discharge lounge, where he had been left all day
Mrs Pennington and her sister Elaine Naylor, right, are ‘outraged’ after seeing their elderly father in such a condition. They are also ‘disgusted’ after discovering a ‘do not resuscitate’ order had been placed on his notes without his family being consulted
‘He hadn’t eaten because he’d only been offered a sandwich and he can’t eat that. They obviously hadn’t checked his notes.
‘I was told that if I wanted to drive him, then I’d have to sign a waiver so I suggested we booked a taxi instead.
‘They said we could but argued we couldn’t take the hospital wheelchair off the premises.
‘I said it was ridiculous because I wasn’t about to run off with it.
‘When the taxi arrived it wasn’t one big enough to fit a wheelchair. I wasn’t happy because they knew he needed one.
‘In the end we had to lift him into the taxi and lift him out again at the other end.
‘It took three people to help and my dad was screaming in pain. He’d been sitting down in a wheelchair all day, which he’s not supposed to do and that had caused his bones to really ache.
‘He was in agony and really distressed.’
Mr Wilson, a former printer’s assistant, finally arrived back at the care home at 7.45pm – more than 10 hours after he’d been moved to the discharge lounge.
Mother-of-one Mrs Pennington, who works as a credit controller, said she was ‘disgusted’ when she was told by care home staff that a ‘do not resuscitate’ order was placed on Mr Wilson’s file without the family being consulted.
She added: ‘The whole thing was just awful.
‘When I was told that it was the final straw. It’s just the principle.
‘I really think that it’s partly down to ageism. I think sometimes the treatment of elderly people is abysmal.
A spokesman for Warrington Hospital said the trust is investigating the family’s complaint
‘You read about it a lot where they’ve just been left and forgotten about.
‘If I hadn’t been there then I dread to think what might have happened.
‘I want to raise awareness so this doesn’t happen to anybody else. If it had been a patient less well, they could have died.’
Kelly Jackson, head of patient transport service for North West Ambulance Service, said: ‘We would like to apologise to the patient and their family for the delay in their transportation.
‘We accepted the booking just after 1pm. Unfortunately, we were not advised by the unit of the time the patient would be ready to travel and an afternoon discharge was selected.
‘We were also informed that the patient required a double crewed ambulance which caused a further delay in waiting for that type of transport to become available.
‘We are sorry to the patient and their family for the distress the delay caused and would encourage the family to contact us further if they wish to do so.’
A Warrington Hospital spokesman said the complaint was currently being investigated.
He added: ‘The discharge lounge offers patients the option of a chair or bed to relax and rest in during their stay and in cases of transport being delayed.
‘We also offer a range of food and refreshments to patients during their stay, but we will look and see if there was any issue that prevented this from happening in this case.’Â
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