A DISTRAUGHT son has spoken out about his concerns over Southend Hospital after his father was forced to be readmitted less than four hours after he was discharged.

Paul Bates said he was forced to wait for hours with his 77-year-old father, John, in Southend A&E just hours after he had already been discharged by staff.

Mr Bates, a former Essex Police officer from Great Wakering, said that his dad was discharged from the hospital despite complaining that he felt really unwell with a bad infection.

He said: “On December 22, my father was prescribed antibiotics as a precaution because he was showing infection symptoms.

“He suffers from multiple sclerosis so is prone to infections regularly.

“On Christmas Eve he was taken to Southend A&E after staff at his care home found he had deteriorated significantly.

“On this occasion, he was admitted to a ward relatively quickly and treated with antibiotics.

“Four days later, we were told that he was being discharged despite him having told staff that he didn’t want to go because he still felt unwell.

“He was returned to the care home that day with the same antibiotics he had already been taking which were clearly having no effect.

“Within four hours, he was back at Southend A&E where I was told he wasn’t the only failed discharge.”

Mr Bates said he was waiting with his father in the hospital corridor along with seven paramedics with other patients and reported that at one point, 14 ambulances had been waiting outside to hand over their patients to hospital staff.

He added: “We were queuing for hours that night and he finally got onto a ward at about 3.30am only to be discharged again later that day when he was worse than he was the first time. More bed clearing. I think the wards have been pressured to empty beds in order to clear space for the backlog in the A&E department.

“I feel so sorry for the hard-working and dedicated staff who want to do more but are tied by Government imposed austerity.

“I just think the hospital is too small. They closed Rochford Hospital years ago yet the population continues to increase.

“There needs to be considerable investment or the current situation won’t improve.

“It’s not just the hospital – it’s the roads, doctors and schools as well.”

Mr Bates’s father is now recovering at a care home in Rochford, having been given stronger antibiotics.

Neil Rothnie, medical director at Southend Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are fully committed to the safety and well-being of our patients whilst they are under our care.

“It is only when we deem them medically fit for discharge, that we would consider discharging them.

“We would never discharge someone if it was not safe to do so.

“We have rigorous processes and procedures in place to safeguard our patients’ wellbeing and work closely with our colleagues in the community to ensure support is in place for patients requiring additional care as they continue their rehabilitation or recovery.

“Our staff continue to work extremely hard to manage the on-going pressures on our services whilst maintaining a safe environment and high standards of care for our patients.”