A HOSPITAL has admitted that it "let down" a patient in its care after he collapsed at his home. Retired NHS worker Terry McGilvray claimed he was left to lie in his own sweat for nearly 12 days because there were not enough staff at North Hampshire Hospital, in Basingstoke, to wash him. The pensioner from Borovere Close, Alton, also alleged that he was not taken to the toilet for 12 days and during his stay in D wing, the floor under his bed became a haven for used injection needles and discarded medical cups. Now the chief executive of North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust has given Mr McGilvray, 66, and his wife Gwen, also 66, both a verbal and written apology. In a letter to Mrs McGilvray, dated just two weeks after The Herald revealed Mr McGilvray's allegations about his in-patient care, Mary Edwards said: "I am very sorry that the hospital let you and your husband down after his recent admission. "I have recently written to your husband with some detailed feedback from the staff involved in his care that may answer some of Mr McGilvray's concerns. I recognise, however, having talked to your husband, that you were placed in a difficult situation when he could not be transferred as originally planned to Alton Hospital. "My staff really did believe they were doing their best to get Mr McGilvray home and they were not trying to send him home before he was safe to go. However it is clear that you needed some additional support and equipment that took some time to organise. "I am pleased that you both found the community physiotherapy service helpful and that they were able to access the right equipment for you. "Please accept my sincere apologies that the way in which we handled your husband's discharge added to your worries and made things difficult for you. This really was not our intention." Mr McGilvray, who spent 28 years as a cleaner at the former Lord Mayor Treloar Hospital in Alton, said he was pleased to receive the apology and accepted it. "Well, would you not be pleased?" he said. "I said to Mary Edwards, my wife deserves a big apology and I left it like that. All this would not have come about if it wasn't for you and your paper and I mean that." Mr McGilvray, who is registered disabled, suffers from a number of medical conditions including cirrhosis, bacterial blood poisoning and diabetes. He takes three high dose courses of medication a day. When he left hospital, Mr McGilvray thought he would be transferred to Alton Community Hospital for rehabilitation before going home. But because Inwood Ward had been closed, Mr McGilvray was instead taken home by ambulance to his wife. Hampshire County Council said Mr McGilvray had satisfied a social worker that his care needs were going to be met by his wife at home before he was discharged from hospital. After he was discharged from hospital, the council gave Mr McGilvray a high chair to make life easier for him together with a toilet booster seat and a chair for him to sit on in the bathroom. And a carer has now been assigned to him twice a day to help him dry himself after a shower and apply medicated creams to his body. Last week a representative from the county council's financial assessment team was due to visit Mr McGilvray to assess whether he was able to make a contribution towards the cost of the carer. Spokeswoman Tracy Buckland said: "People get assessed depending on their particular circumstances to see whether they would get the service for free or whether they would have to make a contribution. "About half of the people who get services from us don't end up paying anything at all, the others depending on their particular circumstances would make some sort of contribution. "Obviously we have got a limited number of resources so we have to assess people to see who can afford to pay and who can't."
