ABANDONED IN HOSPITAL
A WOMAN claims her elderly father is being “abandoned” after he fell at a care home and ended up in hospital.
Arthur James Hamilton has been at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, since cutting his head in the accident at Plas Gwilym, Penygroes, last Sunday.
Daughter Sue Jones, of nearby Talysarn, has been told the 83-year-old, who has Parkinson’s disease, osteoarthritis and symptoms of dementia, can’t return to Plas Gwilym after being discharged from hospital as it’s not a nursing home.
“They said six months ago he should be in [nursing] care,” said Mrs Jones, adding that Gwynedd social workers have been trying to find a suitable nursing home for her father – he was refused by one because he was “too mobile” and another was full.
Mrs Jones, 53, said nobody could advise her on the most suitable accommodation or supply her with a list of homes.
“I have asked for guidance,” she said. “His disease is only going to get worse. They can’t advise me. What am I supposed to do?
“Somebody needs to be held accountable. It’s coming across as my fault because I haven’t gone looking for a home. I needed advice to see what I was looking for.”
Mr Hamilton can’t be discharged from hospital until a suitable care package has been arranged, and Mrs Jones added: “He’s got a bed blocked now at Ysbyty Gwynedd. I am disgusted by the way he’s been treated – they can’t just abandon him.
“He’s got nowhere to go and I’m in limbo. I don’t know what to do. I can’t get answers.
“Everything is my fault. He’d like to go back to the home because the staff like him.”
Mrs Jones said her father, a grandfather of two and greatgrandfather of four, moved to Plas Gwilym from his home in Talysarn after her mum had cancer and couldn’t look after him.
A Gwynedd council spokesman said: “While the council cannot discuss the details of individual cases, when an individual’s care needs change they must be accommodated in a suitable registered establishment.
“Plas Gwilym is a residential care home for older people and does not provide nursing care.”