Apology after terminally ill man evicted from hospital
 

Apology after terminally ill man evicted from hospital
By Christine Briddon
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Distress: John and Lynn McCarron

A complaint by a Brentford woman, whose terminally ill, wheelchair bound husband, was evicted from a West Middlesex hospital unit by police and security staff, has been upheld by the Healthcare Commission.

Retired civil engineer John McCarron 59, who suffers from motor neurone disease was put in a cab with his inhaler and belongings and told by the driver if there was no one at his home in Whitestile Road, Brentford, he would be left in the garden.

The complaint against the West London Mental Health NHS Trust was made by Mr McCarron's 57-year-old wife, Lynn, who is a district nurse In July 2006, Mr McCarron experienced a severe reaction to anti-depressants and was sectioned and admitted to the Lakeside mental health unit at West Mid.

He was released from the section order on July 18 but remained on the unit as an informal patient.

The following weekend, Mrs McCarron took her husband away for a break.

On the Tuesday when he was due to return they received a phone call saying he had been discharged.


She told staff this could not be done as no care plan had been organised and building work on adaptations at the house due to begin.

Mrs McCarron drove her husband back to the unit and claims after taking him to a ward she was told she could not re-enter.

Police and security officers were called to evict Mr McCarron against his will.

Mrs McCarron said: "My husband is severely disabled, in a wheeelchair and on a ventilator yet they sent burly policemen and security to evict him.

"It is obvious that my husbad is so disabled he posed no threat but was totally dependent."

In the cab Mr McCarron suffered a severe panic attack and had to be rushed to the accident and emergency unit at West Mid.

He spent two nights in A&E until a suitable place was found for him.

The trust told the Healthcare Commission it decided to discharge Mr McCarron as he was not suffering a mental illness.

It acknowledged the distress caused and apologised but said: "The professionals concerned have to retain authority over who should and should not be admitted to clinical areas."

The trust said the decision to discharge Mr McCarron was taken in good faith but accepted that it was not ideal.

The Healthcare Commission upheld Mrs McCarron complaint, stating there had been insufficient planning of Mr McCarron's discharge. It noted the trust has apologised A statement from the trust said: "The trust agrees with the Healthcare Commission view that more could have been done to resolve Mrs McCarron's concerns sooner.

"We are sorry for any distress experienced.

"The trust is currently reviewing its care programme approach procedures and will take into account the issues raised here."

"The police were called because we need their authority to remove people aginst their wishes."


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ALSers can get treated so badly
 

in the hospital it is shameful. truly, truly.

I used to co-moderate the old ALS/Lyme group and we had the most wonderful people in the world who were treated like total crap, 2 peopel treated very badly by separate nursing staff in two separate hospitals when they were dying. I will NEVER ever forget the way some people were treated. I couldn't believe it, it made me have very little faith in nurses anymore the way some people got treated.
just WRONG.