A hospital has apologised after an elderly woman was sent home from hospital in her nightgown and without a key to her house.

Alice Fisher, 91, who lives in Stokenchurch, was admitted to Stoke Mandeville on April 27 after a nasty fall at home.

She was discharged from hospital the next day, but was admitted again after injuring her face in another fall.

On May 1, Mrs Fisher was sent home in an ambulance wearing her night clothes and without a key to get into her house.

When the paramedic realised she couldn’t get into her house, Mrs Fisher had to be brought back to the hospital.

Mrs Fisher’s daughter, Linda Seeley, who lives in Studley Green, told of her anger at the ‘hassle’ her vulnerable mother had to endure.

She said: “She was discharged from hospital when she shouldn’t have been. We weren’t told she was being sent home. We had agreed that she wouldn’t go home without a key and someone to go with her, but they sent her home anyway.

“There were three separate people involved in discharging her, but obviously they didn’t communicate with each other. Everyone was blaming each other when I went into the ward to speak to them. It’s just not good enough.

“I just lost all sense of control. It’s just disgusting and awful how some people can be treated. You just don’t need that sort of hassle at that age.”

Mrs Seeley feels the hospital were not helpful when she complained.

She said: “I was sent a letter telling me to make a complaint to the patient advice and liaison service (PALS) at the hospital, but I had already done that, so the letter wasn’t any help. It was a waste of time sending it.

“I just want an apology for how they treated her.”

The hospital has now admitted that Mrs Fisher’s standard of care was below expectations and has apologised.

Carolyn Morrice, chief nurse said: “We were concerned to hear from Mrs Seeley regarding her mother’s care following a stay in hospital recently.

“We have been in touch with Mrs Seeley to discuss her concerns and are making every effort to fully understand what happened so we can take any actions required to ensure we learn from her mother’s experience.

“We wish to apologise to Mrs Seeley and her mother and acknowledge that, on this occasion, Mrs Seeley’s mother's discharge and transportation home from hospital fell below the standard we would expect.”