Scots wheelchair user forced to sleep in van outside hospital for 10-weeks
dailyrecord.co.ukA Scots wheelchair user says she has been forced to sleep in a hospital car park in her van for 10-weeks during freezing temperatures.Dr Caroline Gould travelled from Skye to Inverness when her husband Denis was transferred to the city's Raigmore Hospital but she was unable to find suitable accommodation.High demand for hotel rooms in the city has left her sleeping in her van and to make matters worse, a care package for her husband is still not in place.Retired bank manager Mr Gould, 72, was due to be discharged home to Broadford on Tuesday but he remains in hospital and it is unclear when he will be released."I am appalled at how much worse the NHS has become," said Dr Gould. "All I want is for us to be home for Christmas where I can hug my husband again.
I haven't been able to do that for ten weeks because of wheelchair access issues."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.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.
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