Monthly Archives: February 2012

Cancer patient dies alone in hotel room after hospital sends him there to free up beds

Wife finds body when she goes to visit

 

  • Hospital routinely sends chemotherapy patients to hotel between treatments
  • Panic alarms had not been installed in hotel rooms for two years as they ‘weren’t used’

By Jenny Hope

Last updated at 2:11 AM on 25th February 2012

 

A cancer patient died alone after being sent to a hotel to recuperate from chemotherapy treatment on the NHS.

Ian Curtis, 39, died 200 yards away from University College Hospital, London, which rents out hotel rooms for patients who would otherwise stay in overnight.

It is the second death of a chemotherapy patient using the scheme since it was introduced in 2004.

‘Catastrophic infection’: Ian Curtis, 39, died in a hotel 200 yards away from University College Hospital, London, where his wife Tracy found his body

The hospital stopped installing panic alarms in rooms at the four-star Radisson Edwardian Grafton Hotel last year because patients did not use them.

Mr Curtis was overwhelmed by a sudden ‘catastrophic infection’ that prevented him making a phone call for help.

Raising awareness for people with dementia and their carers

A film about Tommy Whitelaw’s campaign to raise awareness for people with dementia and their carers.

 

http://tv.enterprisescreen.co.uk/watch?v=347

‘Silver surfers’ should be listened to

24 February 2012 Last updated at 08:29

‘Silver surfers’ should be listened to

 Older people are increasingly ‘web-savvy’

As patients’ interaction with the health service increasingly moves online, it is easy to assume that the voices of the elderly will be lost along the way.

But in this week’s Scrubbing Up, Dr Paul Hodgkin of the feedback site Patient Opinion, says social media channels are not just for the young.

The stories that elderly people tell us have huge power. They are sad, funny, intimate, tragic, overwhelming and inspirational.