Terminal cancer patient told to quit hospital bed

Hospital bosses handed Sue Gentry a letter telling her to go within 28 days so her bed could be used by other patients.

She says she has nowhere to go – because her home address is in Spain, despite her and her husband working full time in this country.

She was handed a letter from bosses at Western Community Hospital in Southampton telling her to leave within 28 days so her bed in Snowdon House ward can be used by other patients.

Now she and husband Barry are desperately trying to find somewhere to stay.

They spend most of the year in this country as live-in carers, pay income tax and National Insurance but cannot get council or social service help because they have no UK residence.

To make things worse, the cancer has spread to Sue’s spine, leaving her only able to walk a few steps with a walking frame. The rest of the time she uses a wheelchair.

Sue, who turned 58 yesterday, said she felt “gutted” when she received the letter from the Solent NHS Foundation Trust-run hospital.

She said: “I have paid my taxes and National Insurance all my life up until this point and there is nothing here to help me. I have never been on benefits and all my life I have met my responsibilities to the state and now the state does not want to help me.

“The care at Snowdon House has been absolutely wonderful and the facilities are excellent but I don’t know where to turn now and I feel like I’m banging my head against the wall.

“I understand that there are people waiting for a bed but I have nowhere to go and I cannot move.”

Barry, 59, said: “There is no help for people in our situation. But my wife is concerned she is taking up a place that someone else needs and she has been in a low mood because she feels very pressured to get out.”

Sue and her husband Barry

The couple cannot stay with their adult sons, who both live in rented accommodation in Southampton, because they do not have the space for the facilities required by Sue – and they have been warned not to return to Spain because of the impact travelling could have on Sue’s condition.

Sarah Hawkins, head of client services at cancer support charity Wessex Cancer Trust, said: “It’s really distressing and sad to hear about this couple. They work in this country so it should not matter if they live in Spain. It seems cruel to say ‘you have 28 days to leave’ knowing that they have nowhere to go.”

Dr Caroline Hutchings, a consultant in neuro rehabilitation, said the hospital was under huge pressure to provide beds.

She said: “When a medical decision has been made that a patient is ready to be at their own home, we discuss this with the patient, carers and our partners, such as social services. Following these ongoing discussions, a formal letter notifying them they should leave hospital within 28 days is issued.

“Giving someone this letter is never done lightly, and often heralds a period of mediation which leads to resolution. I have never reached the point where a mutually agreed discharge has not been possible within a reasonable timeframe.”

City council housing boss Cllr Warwick Payne the authority’s hands are tied because of the couple’s home address.

He said: “If we made an exception there are 15,000 people on the social housing waiting list for our properties who would say ‘why are these people who live overseas jumping the queue’?”