Covid: Nurse's alarm over Shrewsbury hospital discharge

A nurse has raised safety concerns after saying a hospital discharged her father before the result of his positive Covid test was in.

Tracey Huffer said her father was released to her home while, unknown to her, the result was still outstanding.

She said she was angry the move allowed for a window in which Covid could be transmitted, and believed her dose of the virus came from her infected dad.

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital said it had followed pandemic discharge guidelines.

Hospital trusts in England are advised that patients can be discharged with the coronavirus, but isolation protocol should be strictly followed on release.

Mrs Huffer - a healthcare assistant at a general practice - said discharging patients while Covid results were pending was wrong, and left families with no warning of what could come.

The local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) called the matter "concerning", adding families needed to be informed if a Covid-positive person was going to be released to them.

Mrs Huffer said she had gone to work after contact with her father at home, unwittingly risking the safety of her own patients.

Mrs Huffer's terminally-ill father, John Jacks, died within a fortnight of leaving hospital where, she said, she suspected he contracted the coronavirus.

She said the cancer patient had spent "the last two weeks of his life blaming himself" for giving her Covid.

The 57-year-old from Ludlow, Shropshire, added she did not learn of the positive test result until the day after her father's February release - when she had already returned to work.

Her father phoned her "distraught" at the events, she said.

"Bear in mind I'd seen six patients that morning - I could have put those patients at risk."

"[My father and I] spent ten days in isolation together with me as his carer, counting the days down until he could have some little bit of freedom, we could take him outside.

"But unfortunately as we came out of isolation my dad passed away, and the day my father died, my husband went down with symptoms and tested positive."

Mrs Huffer said she was still suffering from Covid symptoms, adding "someone's got to be held to account and there's got to be a rigid protocol in place".

On Monday, a Shropshire councillor recounted a further three incidents in which the same hospital trust released Covid-positive patients, whom, she said, went on to infect family members.

Heather Kidd said the "unacceptable" cases were "the tip of the iceberg".

Analysis by Joanne Gallacher, BBC Radio Shropshire

Tracey Huffer says someone needs to be held to account for discharging her relative before his test results were known, and also that hospital protocols around discharge must be changed.

Liberal Democrat councillor Heather Kidd has written to hospital bosses demanding answers. She sits on the committee at Shropshire Council which scrutinises health decisions. She's told me she's "furious" and that she has been inundated with messages from other families with similar stories.

The council's public health director, Rachel Robinson has said she is aware of the situation.

David Evans, accountable officer for the Shropshire's CCG, said he was "concerned", adding Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust (SaTH) was "aware" of the issue, and looking at "steps they now need to take, if any, to make sure there's no recurrence of that".

Saying "the national guidelines are really clear that people should be tested on discharge", he explained: "Families obviously should be informed if someone is going to be discharged who is Covid-positive, so that the family are not only aware but can also take the right precautions to deal with their relative upon discharge.

"Anyone who is going to be discharged from hospital [in the pandemic], irrespective of whether they are Covid-positive or not, should be having assessment carried out on ensuring that the discharge is safe."

A SaTH spokesman said: "SaTH follows Public Health England and regional guidance on discharging patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 to the community. All patients are given appropriate advice when they are discharged."

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