Poor service around an older woman's discharge from hospital

What happened

Miss A was admitted to hospital in winter 2011 after a fall. She stayed in hospital until early spring 2012, when she was discharged to a nursing home.

Miss A initially refused to be discharged. The Trust did not tell any members of Miss A's family about its decision to discharge her until the morning of the day she was to be discharged. She was agitated when an ambulance arrived to take her to a nursing home. Eventually she calmed down and agreed to leave in the ambulance. Miss A was discharged in a dishevelled state with a cannula (tube) still in her arm.

Some of Miss A's property went missing in hospital.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. The hospital did not respond appropriately to Miss A's initial refusal to be discharged. The staff should have attempted to persuade her to leave, and raised the matter with a doctor or senior member of staff. Instead, a nurse inappropriately said something to the effect of: 'Miss A still has to be discharged'.

There were some failings in the hospital's communication with Miss A's family. Staff should have told the family about the decision to discharge Miss A before she was discharged

The hospital mislaid some of Miss A's possessions.

Putting it right

The hospital acknowledged the errors in its service and agreed to take action to make sure that it learns from these errors.