A patient trapped in a hospital for nine months because of a lack of adequate care in the community says it feels like he “is being punished”.
Junior Jimoh has a neurological muscular condition and is unable to walk.
The 30-year-old, from south London, also needs a ventilator to breathe and round-the-clock specialist care.
He has been a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in central London since May last year.
He was rushed to the hospital by ambulance after he developed sepsis.
Junior has been medically fit for discharge since September, but he cannot be discharged because there is no nurse-led package of care in place for him.
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Junior said: “In my mind, it’s frustrating, and I feel like everybody doesn’t care anyway.
“Everyday consultants and medical teams say the same thing, that I need a nurse-led care package. I feel like I’m being punished.”
Junior’s mother, Morile Salami, visits her son in hospital every day.
She says the stress keeps her up all night.
“I can’t even sleep most of the time because I don’t know what is going to happen next.”
“I know away from hospital, he will get better and even improve but it has to be with the right care package.”
Junior says some of his previous care wasn’t fit for purpose.
In a report seen by Sky News, the London Ambulance Service found that Junior “may have been at risk of neglect”, and “was placed at a risk that could have proven fatal”.
The NHS care board in charge of Junior’s care says it takes an individual’s needs and circumstances into consultation with them and their carers.
Almost 13,500 people in December who were in hospital beds were considered medically fit for discharge.
The Government is buying beds in care and nursing homes to discharge some of these patients.
But more than half of those require ongoing acute treatment and around 15% need end-of-life care.
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Sarah McClinton, President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services told Sky News the Government messaging around patients who are medically fit for discharge is too simplistic and can be misleading.
And as Junior’s case proves, the crisis in care can not only be resolved by buying extra care beds.
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She said: “What we know is that many of those people will still have very complex needs and they’ll need a whole range of services out in the community, in their own homes ideally, so we often hear that there are 13,000 people waiting in hospital for social care – that’s just not the case.”
A spokesperson for the care board in charge of Junior’s care told Sky News: “The Integrated Care Board commissions care in line with the appropriate guidance and legislation and takes into account an individual’s needs and circumstances in consultation with them and their carers.
“However, due to patient confidentiality, we are not able to discuss individual commissioning decisions.”
