My father has been in and out of hospital for some time, Recently we recieved the good news that they will allow him to come home on the condition that he recieve medical treatment at home.

Part of this is for a large motor asissted hospital bed be added to the bedroom, whilst this is not an issue, we were told on that on the grounds of "health and safety" my mother would not be able to sleep in a normal single bed beside him.

Health and safety also reared its head when asking if the bed was nesscesary at all, My father has problems getting in and out of bed and is fairly fragile ( at the moment ). However, on previous occasions upon his return home, such a great effort was not made and my father adapted to the bed we have in place.

We have been asked to put him into a carers home, but none of us deem that idea to be ideal for him, it seems the hospital are doing everything they can to deter us from having him at home with the family.

My question is, are any of the "Health and safety" mentions true or are we being pushed into something that is over cautious and un-nesscesary?

Thanks for the help in advance.

I am of the opinion this is probably a care issue rather than a health and safety issue persay.

Given your father is in his own home, the only scenario I can think of if health and safety is being bantered about is on the proviso that home nursing is being provided. In this case, the provision of the electric bed would be for the assistance of the carers, in addition to providing increased comfort to your father.

Having a bed next to it may compromise the functions and purpose of the bed and the care provided to your father, particularly if assistance is required at the bedside, I.e. getting in/out of bed or treatment when in bed.

Most health organisations are very supportive when people take relatives home rather than keep them hospitalised, so I would encourage you to voice your concerns with them. I am sure a compromise could be met.

It's partly H&S, but probably more closely concerned with professional duties of care, orginating from bideis like the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists. There's also a real fear in the NHS of bad press and/or litigation arising from apparent neglect. Discharging somebody from hospital without a proper risk assessment would open the professionals concerned to exactly this; the press could quite easily make their lives a misery. 'Man condemned to bed-ridden life by negligent nurses' or something of the sort.

But having said that, yes, discuss it with the hosiptal, because all the professional bodies also have a written duty to enhance patient choice and independence, and its a question of striking the right balance,

John