A man with terminal pancreatic cancer was discharged from the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast without a complete care package in place. His wife, Shelley Bass, was told to ask her neighbors if they knew of any carers. Ray Bass, age 67, was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and discharged home to County Fermanagh. The Western Trust apologized for any distress caused.
Shelley Bass was left to organize her husband’s care package herself after being told to ask her neighbors for help. A hospital bed was delivered to the house, but the care package Shelley was expecting did not arrive. When district nurses and a palliative care team arrived at their home, they said they were not aware of any care package that had been put in place.
Shelley Bass was not shown how to use the equipment that had been delivered and was shocked to learn that she would have to buy some equipment herself. She was told by Macmillan to take her husband to a hospice, but her husband didn’t want to be away from her. After a post on social media, Shelley was inundated with offers from carers and other people offering support.
Shelley says she used to have a lot of trust in the NHS, but her experiences have changed her perspective. The Western Trust stated that patients are discharged in the trust in which the patient is being cared for and that includes assessing and identifying the patients’ needs. When neighboring trusts are involved, a care package referral is made, and discussions will take place on availability of care and ability to meet these within a certain timeframe. Hospital and community teams are working very hard under unprecedented pressures to make sure patients and their families receive the most appropriate care. The Belfast Trust has also been approached for comment
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More