Wheelchair user sleeps in van during hospital ordeal

Caroline Gould in her wheelchair-accessible vehicle in Raigmore Hospital's car park

A wheelchair user says she has had to sleep in her van in a hospital car park while her husband is treated for an illness.

Caroline Gould said she could not find suitable accommodation in Inverness due to visitor demand for hotel rooms after Denis was transferred to the city's Raigmore Hospital from their local hospital in Skye.

Mr Gould had expected to be discharged home on Tuesday, but the required care package discussed three weeks ago was still not in place.

NHS Highland said it was sorry Mr Gould had been unable to return home, and added that it was having regular discussions with him and his family about the situation.

The couple's ordeal began in October when Mr Gould, who is diabetic and has kidney problems, became ill after complications with his kidneys.

His lungs filled with fluid and he had difficulty breathing. He also experienced severe abdominal pain.

Mr Gould was taken by ambulance to Skye's Broadford hospital.

His wife said medical staff wanted to transfer him to Raigmore, but there was initially no bed available for him.

Denis and Caroline Gould live in Skye

A bed was later made available in Raigmore's high dependency unit, but Dr Gould was unable to find suitable hotel accommodation to be near him.

She said she found that wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms had to be booked in advance, and last minute bookings were unavailable due to demand.

Mrs Gould headed to Inverness in her wheelchair-accessible vehicle, packing quickly for what she believed would be a short trip.

But she told BBC Naidheachdan she had not anticipated having to stay in the city for more than two months.

Mrs Gould said she had spent hours in the cold trying to sleep in her vehicle

Mrs Gould said some of Raigmore's "wonderful" nursing staff tried to find her accommodation, but she said there was nothing that could meet her needs.

She said: "I had to sleep in my wheelchair in my vehicle in the car park at Raigmore.

"I did that for a long time. It was very cold.

"I had to turn on the engine during the night several times to try and heat up the interior of the vehicle."

The majority of the time she has been inside the hospital by her husband's bed, but she has to leave him at night.

Because it was so cold in her van, she has recently been keeping warm at night sitting in a corridor near the hospital's entrance.

Mrs Gould said there was some hope after an improvement in her husband's condition.

She said medical staff told them three weeks ago - on 28 November - Mr Gould could be discharged on Tuesday of this week.

But she said that had not happened because some medical equipment had still to be delivered and some carers were unavailable.

Mrs Gould said: "Denis needs reablement care by two people seven days a week, but we were told on Skye they could only send two people three days a week."

She said her husband was also still awaiting a further assessment.

Mrs Gould accused NHS Highland of creating a "complete and utter mess" over his return home.

She said: "The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

"I am absolutely shattered. I'm exhausted. I think I have had an average four hours sleep a night for the last nine weeks.

"What is really upsetting is other visitors can hug and kiss, hold hands the people they are visiting.

"I can't get near Denis to comfort him because of my wheelchair.

She added: "It has been a rollercoaster for him - improvement, and then back down again, then improvement.

"He just wants to go home."

'Very sorry'

NHS Highland said, like other health boards, it faced challenges in recruiting and retaining care workers and other staff.

It said it was taking a number of approaches to support care in local communities.

A spokeswoman said: "While we can’t talk about the individual’s circumstances we are very sorry that we have not been able to get this person home.

"We are in regular and detailed discussions with him and his family directly."

The health board said legislation was in place to support people who wanted to employ their own carers.

It said its accommodation team could discuss the options available to families in its on-site accommodation.

The spokeswoman said: "Ward staff will be happy to put them in touch should they wish to take that forward."