Bristol patient in hotel left for week without nurse

An elderly patient was left without nursing care for more than a week after being discharged to a hotel to free up hospital beds, his family said.

The man was one of 30 patients moved from Southmead Hospital to The Bristol Hotel due to staff shortages.

All were considered medically well enough to leave hospital but needed 24-hour support, the NHS confirmed.

A spokesperson added it was "urgently reviewing this case to take any necessary action".

The contract was brokered with the hotel a few days before Christmas when cases of the Covid variant Omicron were rising rapidly and hospital beds were in high demand.

Homecare agency Abicare was contracted by The Healthier Together Partnership, a collaboration of NHS, councils and community providers, to run a temporary care facility at the hotel with live-in staff providing round-the-clock care with other services provided by clinical teams.

Linda Slade's father was admitted to the hotel in January after being treated for a fall and foot infection at Southmead Hospital.

"The first week there was nothing and the second week my understanding is a physio did come once and a district nurse came once," said Ms Slade.

She claimed the hospital had not been in communication with the carers who she believed were not equipped to look after her father.

"He has a stoma bag, they didn't know anything about stoma bags or what to do."

She added that once her father's foot infection had cleared and it had been bandaged, the nurse did not return to re-dress the wound.

A spokesperson for the NHS in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire said it was sorry to hear about his experience.

"Even when we're extremely busy we are absolutely committed to giving people the very best care and will be urgently reviewing this case to take any necessary action," they added.

However, questions are also being raised about whether a hotel is a suitable setting for care, with showers said to be impossible to get into, toilets at the wrong height and no handrails in corridors.

Anne-Marie Perry, managing director at Abicare, said they "work very closely with our NHS partners to provide a safe and quality service" and that their carers were "experienced and fully trained".

She added: "Where we identify a need we work closely with the CCG to provide the equipment needed to deliver safe care."

"As there may not be handrails in the hotel alternatives may be sought, such as walking frames or walking sticks."