"Unsafe discharge :("

My Uncle was in Rotherham Hospital for about 40 days following him becoming extremely confused. He was waiting for a placement to somewhere where an assessment could be made and so we could get a diagnosis as he has suspected Lewy Bodies Dementia and while I can't fault the care he received whilst there I can fault his discharge!

We live in Sheffield and we were reassured that he wouldn't be moved without us having prior knowledge as due to his confused state he gets scared and emotional and often feels lost and unsafe , We wanted to be present so when he was moved we could provide plenty of reassurance and so he knew he would be safe.

Myself and my mum-in-Law (she's in her late 70s ) travelled from Sheffield to Rotherham hospital as we had arranged for a solicitor to attend so we can sort out Lasting Power of Attorney due to the likelihood of him needing constant care.

We went to the ward where my Uncle had been and enquired had he been moved as the person in his bed wasn't him, only to find he had been discharged at 4pm the previous day and no-one had informed us!

We had to cancel the solicitor and come back to Sheffield to find him at the care home where he was sent to be assessed. On arrival, finally we found my uncle extremely upset as he thought the men in uniform who had taken him in darkness the previous night were policemen and not the ambulance service and he was under arrest. It took us ample time to try and explain that this was not the case and he was going to be OK. After lots of tears and reassurance he finally settled.

We then found out he had left the Hospital without his clothes and had a pair of someone else's trousers with £30 in the pocket that wasn't his, all he had was 2 pair of underpants and the clothes he stood up in! Again, had we been given prior knowledge to his discharge, we could have made sure he had his items and not someone else's. All this could have been avoided for the sake of 1 simple phone call.  

I was and still am extremely upset but not as upset as my uncle, it has taken nearly a week to settle him and reassure him that he hasn't been arrested and that he is safe in the care home for the time it will take for the assessment.

Please consider patients' feelings when discharging them, not all are happy to leave and feel extremely vulnerable, especially when they have lucid moments and haven't a clue what's happening to them !