Derek Bassett stuck in hospital for 9 months

Published: 24 June 2010
by TOM FOOT

A BLACK cab driver has been “stuck” in a hospital ward for nine months following a leg amputation because of a shortage of flats adapted for wheelchair users.

Derek Bassett said he had been “dumped” in the “depressing” South Wing of St Pancras Hospital since emergency surgery on his gangrenous leg in September.

The operation confined the 61-year-old diabetic to a wheelchair and he was told he could not return to his home in Holborn because it is too expensive to adapt.

Mr Bassett says attempts by both Camden and Islington councils to find him an alternative in the area have drawn a blank.

“They take your leg off and dump you in here without thinking where you will go afterwards,” he said. “They say they can’t do up my flat, but they can’t find me an adapted one near where I live. I just keep getting fobbed off.

“Think of the costs of keeping me in here for nine months. It is a depressing place. If it was up to me, I’d smash it down and build a new one instead.”

Mr Bassett’s story has echoes of the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Jennyfer Spencer, the disabled woman who died in her unadapted Gospel Oak flat seven years after applying for a transfer to a wheelchair accessible property. She had rejected five other offers because she felt they were too small or too far away.

Mr Barrett’s long stay in St Pancras comes at a time when the Government is trying to move rehabilitation out of hospitals and “into the community”.

NHS Camden agreed on Monday to bring an end to “continuing care” – where long-term patients are treated over lengthy periods in hospitals – in the South Wing of St Pancras. 

Seven long-stay patients, who are either “very frail” or who have “mental incapacity”, will be moved into care homes against their wishes, a board meeting heard on Monday.

The patients had earlier been assured that those who did not wish to move would not be forced to leave, the meeting heard.

Director of joint commissioning Rebecca Harrington said the cost of maintaining South Wing each year – more than £1million – is “ not viable”.

She said: “We recognise that for some people who have been used to living in a hospital bay with others for many years, may find a change disconcerting. We recognise the concerns of the public and families with regard to the quality of care in homes. NHS Camden is rigorous in how it chooses and monitors care homes for patients. We are working closely with families about the transition.”

Chairman John Carrier told the meeting: “The South Wing is going to be a major issue for us.”