Daughter 'appalled' after elderly mother was 'left in her own urine for a day after being discharged' from Northampton General Hospital

A daughter says she has been left “appalled” after her elderly mother was allegedly left alone at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) for almost a day after being discharged, leaving her to call her daughter herself after being “saturated” in her own urine.

The allegations have been made by Elizabeth Price on behalf of her mother, Clementine Price, a 73-year-old woman who suffers from mental health challenges as well as her own mobility.

NGH says it will investigate the claims and liaise with the family.

According to Elizabeth, Clementine was admitted to NGH on Thursday (April 7) after suffering from breathing difficulties that left her unable to speak.

After leaving her mother at the hospital, Elizabeth claims that she heard very little until Saturday (April 9), when her mother called her to say she had been left without care for nearly a day after being discharged.

Elizabeth said: “My mother called me at 0:19am on Saturday, telling me she had been discharged on Friday morning (April 8). No one called me to come and collect her. She was just left in a hall, in a wheelchair, with none of her medication. When I collected her, she was saturated in her own urine.

“They have to have a care plan in place for her to leave the hospital, to make sure she will be looked after. We have done this many times before and I have always been listed as her next of kin. I even called the hospital to confirm my contact details while she was staying there.

"But they never called me to say she had been discharged.

"She cannot walk home by herself. She can’t even get in or out of a car without assistance. The nurse said they were going to let her leave on her own. I said she can't do that.

"When I came to pick her up at around 1am, she was still having breathing difficulties and could barely get words out. When I asked the nurse what happened, she said ‘I don’t know how this could have happened’ and said that my mother could go home with a few extra sandwiches.”

Elizabeth said that, following her return home, Clementine had to be readmitted to NGH when her breathing difficulties worsened once again.

According to the daughter, Clementine was so scared of returning to the hospital, due to her last experience, that the ambulance crew had to tell her “you will die if you don’t go back”. Clementine is currently being treated at NGH, at time of writing (Wednesday April 13).

Northampton General Hospital said they will investigate Elizabeth’s claims, but that a full enquiry will take some time.

A spokeswoman said: “We are sorry to hear about the complaint raised by the patient’s family.

"To protect the patient’s privacy and confidentiality we are unable to comment in any detail, but we will be investigating the circumstances and will liaise directly with the family concerned, in line with our complaints procedure. ”