Stranded Woman’s six-month wait to leave hospital ward
HOSPITAL chiefs have said they are doing all they can to help a disabled patient to go home. Alex Chell is stuck on the only remaining Covid-free ward at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital despite doctors giving her the all-clear to go home in June.
Social workers have allegedly failed to put together a suitable care package for the 41-year-old to be discharged back to family in Cheltenham, claim worried relatives.
And sister Vicki Chell said she understood Alex had now been moved to the last ‘green’ ward, with all other wards having been contaminated and classified as ‘red’.
Although classed as functionally quadriplegic following a seizure, she still has all her mental faculties and is terrified of catching coronavirus, says Vicki, who believes the stress is making her condition worse.
Vicki says a statement sent to Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk saying it was down to Alex’s complex needs is not good enough because the authorities have had six months to come up with a package.
Deborah Lee, chief executive of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, confirmed Alex had been waiting to go home for “a considerable period of time”.
She said: “We’ve been caring for Alex, who has complex health and social care needs, for a considerable period of time.
“Throughout this period, our focus has been on ensuring Alex receives the right treatment and support to enable her to be safely discharged into the community.
“Alex has been ready for discharge for a considerable period of time but, unfortunately, our partners have not been able to identify a suitable placement that meets her complex needs.
“We understand the frustrations of the patient and her family and will continue to work closely with our partner to enable Alex to be discharged from our hospital as soon as possible.”
Alex has a volunteer advocate, who said: “Adult social care have repeatedly failed to find a suitable care package for Alex and she remains in hospital, unnecessarily using precious NHS resources and at risk of contracting Covid-19.”
Sister Vicki is upset with a letter sent from Gloucestershire County Council to Mr Chalk stressing it was “very difficult” to identify the right support and finding an assessment bed was “proving a challenge”.
She said six months should have been long enough to assess Alex and put the care in place.
Margaret Willcox, director of adult social care at Gloucestershire County Council, said it was not as simple as discharging a patient like Alex “straight to their home”, and how long the process took was “dependent on a number of factors”.
“We are working with her and her family to find the best solution that will be sustainable for the long term,” she added.