Man took 'vulnerable' wife out of hospital over fears for her safety

A man whose wife was hospitalised by health complications due to a benign tumour said he took her home to care for her because staff were "too busy" and he was worried for her safety.

Alan Dutton, 60, said his wife Julia, 63 – who has a pituitary gland tumour – was in the car park of Wrexham Maelor Hospital with a tube still attached, after she was taken to A&E with dehydration.

He then sat at her hospital bedside for 28 hours before taking her home because he was "too fearful" to leave her there unattended, adding that in a one-hour period no staff entered her bay.

Betsi Cadwaladr health board said ensuring patients felt "well cared for "was its "primary concern".

Dutton, from Burton near Wrexham, said his wife was diagnosed with the tumour in early July and has been referred to Walton Medical Centre in Liverpool where she hopes to undergo surgery.

He said that one of the symptoms of the condition is the effect on her ability to recognise when she needs to eat and drink, leading to several emergency admissions. She also suffers from anxiety.

Describing her recent experience, he said he did not want to take her to A&E in the future.

"She rang me to say... I've had the drip, I am coming home. I literally jumped in the car, drove to the hospital and I found her standing outside A&E with her bag ready to come home," Dutton said.

But when he saw she still had an intraveneous tube attached, he said it was clear she had not been discharged.

"I spoke to the nurses and I said... 'You can't just let a vulnerable patient walk out… she's in your care. This is not good enough'."

After staff returned her to a treatment room and put her back on fluids, she was later moved to an observation unit where Dutton stayed with her throughout the night and into the next evening because he was concerned she was not being properly monitored.

He said there were long periods when no staff came to check on her.

"There weren't enough nurses, there weren't enough healthcare assistants and there weren't enough beds," he said, adding she was on a trolley the whole time, as were other patients.

Dutton said he felt management issues and not staff were to blame, saying they seemed to be in a "vicious circle".

He said that, despite tests planned a few days later, after she had eaten something, he decided to "get her out" of the hospital.

Dutton said ensuring his wife eats and drinks at home was a "24- hour challenge", describing it as "worrying" to think they might have to turn to the "maxed-out" A&E again.

But he said there is no alternative route for urgent specialist care, despite some clinicians agreeing with him it is not the most appropriate place for her.

He praised the endocrinology and mental health teams who are now trying to support his wife through outpatient care, but said they were largely constrained by the system.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which covers all of north Wales, including Wrexham Maelor Hospital, has been under special measures for the past nine years.

It was recently given a "final chance" to improve by Health Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor, and the Welsh government said it would take on a more direct role, with an expert panel due to report back by the end of October.

Tehmeena Ajmal, the health board's chief operating officer, said she was "very sorry" when any patient felt they had not been well looked after.

"We want patients to engage with us and tell us where they feel care could have been improved or where it has worked for them," she said.

"We take note of every interaction and they help us to understand where we can strengthen services, where necessary, and/or find resolutions."

Dutton is now considering making a formal complaint to the health board about his concerns.

But he said he remained "grateful" to the staff who cared for his wife at the hospital.

"[They] really are working under very difficult circumstances," he said.

"They're doing everything they can. The problem is the system they're working in."