Pensioner in pain trapped in 999 hospital discharge farce

Great-grandfather Derek Ogley, 70, fell ill while in a day room waiting to leave a hospital after a four day stay.

As he became doubled-up in agony, his wife - who suffers from angina - and daughter arrived and begged nurses to readmit him or send for a doctor, but to their astonishment were told this was against the rules.

Farcically, they were told by staff they could either take him to his GP themselves or dial 999 and call for an ambulance to take him across the hospital complex to A&E.

In the end, Mr Ogley's family took him to their car and drove him to casualty three minutes away where he was seen and eventually diagnosed with pancreatitis, which can cause long-term health problems.

Yesterday they spoke of their incredulity at what had happened and said they feared he might not be recovering at home now if they hadn't been there to make a fuss.

The farcical scene unfolded at Tameside General Hospital in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, which in September was accused of providing "chaotic and despicable" care to elderly patients by a coroner after he heard details of four pensioners who died there.

It is yet another illustration of the plight of pensioners in NHS hospitals as highlighted by The Daily Mail's Dignity for the Elderly campaign.

Mr Ogley, a retired funeral director from Glossop, Derbyshire, had been on a medical ward after being taken to A&E with chest pains but was told on November 14 he could go home.

Although he twice complained of stomach pains, he was just given paracetamol and taken to a patients' lounge while his family came to collect him.

When his daughter Julie Lindsay and 69-year-old wife Gwen arrived, he was in agony.

"I went to ask the nurses to get a doctor but they said they couldn't because it wasn't hospital procedure as he'd already been discharged," said Mrs Lindsay, 46.

"They said I would have to call 999 to get an ambulance to collect him and take him round to accident and emergency."

After being readmitted, Mr Ogley ended up on morphine for the pain for two days and spent two weeks in hospital before he was well enough to go home.

The father-of-three is still poorly as he is awaiting surgery to remove his gall bladder.

Yesterday Mrs Lindsay said: "I'm so angry that they wouldn't get a doctor to see him in the first place.

"I think these bureaucrats who make these procedures don't actually work in the hospitals. It seems that these stupid rules come before people."

His younger daughter, Amanda Hall, 38, added: "It's no wonder Tameside Hospital is known as 'Shameside' around here - I feel they just wanted to shunt dad out so they could meet their targets.

"If we hadn't been around to stand up for him, he might not be with us now."

Michael Summers, chairman of the Patients' Association, said: "This is officialdom gone mad, and it's no way to treat elderly people.

"There's such a scramble to free up beds and meet targets that the needs of elderly patients are often overlooked, but health requirements should always come before finance."

Last night the hospital apologised to Mr Ogley and his family, saying that while staff had followed correct procedures, they should have displayed more common sense.

"Given that the patient was still on the hospital premises, a degree of flexibility could and should have been used in ensuring the patient was either transported to A&E via hospital staff, or if necessary treated on the ward," a spokesman said.