Pensioner, 87, discharged from Chorley and South Ribble Hospital with drip tube still stuck in his arm

The son of an 87-year-old pensioner has spoken about his anger and frustration after his father was discharged from hospital with a cannula in his arm '“ and then reportedly advised to remove it himself without medical assistance.
The cannula in Eric Danson's arm after he was discharged from Chorley and South Ribble HospitalThe cannula in Eric Danson's arm after he was discharged from Chorley and South Ribble Hospital
The cannula in Eric Danson's arm after he was discharged from Chorley and South Ribble Hospital

Eric Danson, 87, from Leyland, was discharged from Chorley Hospital on Saturday, September 15, with the medical tube still in his arm.

Eric was unaware of the tube remaining in his arm until his son, James Danson, noticed while at Eric’s home in Round Meadow, Leyland.

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James, 57, rang Chorley Hospital and says he was advised to remove the tube himself.

“Dad had shortness of breath so I rang 111 who sent an ambulance”, Eric explained.

“When he got discharged he still had the cannula in his arm. He didn’t realise it was still in his arm because he couldn’t feel it. When I rang up [staff] said ‘can you not take it out at home?’ I could not believe it. It should have been checked.”

Eric, 87, was taken to Chorley Hospital by ambulance where the cannula was fitted during consultation in the A&E urgent care centre.

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Gail Naylor, Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals Director at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Standard practice on discharge is to check if a patient has a cannula in place and remove before they are discharged from our care.

“We accept that on this occasion this did not happen and are aware of the concerns raised by Mr Danson’s family. We will be contacting them to discuss these directly. In the meantime, we would like to extend our apologies to Mr Danson and his family for any distress this experience caused.”

A hospital spokesman also added that attempts were made for district nurses to visit Mr Danson’s home to remove the cannula prior to him being brought back to the urgent care centre.

They said: “On this occasion, our staff had tried to make arrangements for the cannula to be removed at home so as to limit any inconvenience to Mr Danson and his family. However, this was not possible and so it needed to be removed by staff at Chorley Hospital instead.”

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Chorley MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: “My best wishes go out to Mr Danson and I wish him a speedy recovery.

"Sadly, these oversights are going to become all too common as we continue to see our dedicated frontline NHS workers being asked to do more with less. Our doctors, nurses and support staff are over worked; the squeeze on our NHS is clear for all to see.

"The last time real terms NHS spending was this low was under Margaret Thatcher.

Earlier this month I convened an emergency meeting with local and national health chiefs to discuss the unfolding crisis.

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"Firstly, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust management to be honest about their situation and their intentions, they must not use mistakes as a cover for closing Chorley and South Ribble hospital.

"Once I know the situation and that the Trust is committed to Chorley I will be banging on the door of the new Health Secretary to demand the help the Trust needs.

"The people of Chorley and South Ribble deserve a fully funded, fully operational hospital with an Accident and Emergency unit and that is what I am committed to delivering.”

Attempts were made to contact the office of South Ribble MP Seema Kennedy but no response was gained.