Pensioner ‘sent home in taxi wearing nightie’

Frail Beulah Parr, 83, who has a blood disorder and sight problems, was taken to hospital after she fell out of her bed at around 11.45pm on April 17.

But after being seen at the A&E at Dewsbury and District Hospital, Mrs Parr’s family say she was sent home alone at 6am the next morning and that no family members were contacted.

She made it back to the sheltered housing flat in Wakefield, where she lives with husband Dennis, 87, but collapsed. Her husband found her on the floor, but was unable to pick her up or call their family.

Explaining that Mrs Parr had family contact details with her, son-in-law Richard Smart said: “We’ve asked her if she asked them to contact us. She said she certainly did. That’s why she had the address book with her. I think this is total neglect and they just wanted to discharge her and get her out of the way.”

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust said clinical assessments of A&E patients were made to make sure they were fit to be sent home. Staff were required to check if the patient needed relatives contacting and if they have suitable transport, the trust said.

But Mr Smart denied any of this happened. He said: “She was put in a taxi with an unknown male driver, wearing just a nightie. If we had not found her she’d have been lying there for hours.”

Tracey McErlain-Burns, chief nurse at Mid Yorkshire, said: “I am sorry for any distress that Mrs Parr and her family have experienced as our aim is to provide the highest level of service. We have spoken with the family directly and are looking into their concerns.”