Hospital is forced to apply for a court order to evict ‘fit’ patient who had occupied a bed for TWO YEARS
The patient refused to leave despite being deemed "fit for discharge"
A HOSPITAL has used a court order to evict a man who had "unnecessarily" taken up a bed for more than two years.
The man arrived at James Paget University Hospital in Norfolk in August 2014 and refused to leave until this year despite being deemed "fit for discharge".
The hospital in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, said it launched legal action against the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as a last resort.
A court of possession granted the order on December 1 and the was removed on January 10 and placed in accommodation in the community.
Anna Hills, the hospital's director of governance, told the BBC: "The gentleman repeatedly refused all offers of appropriate accommodation organised by our local authority and social care partners, despite being fit for discharge.
"As a last resort, the trust had to apply to the court to allow us to remove the gentleman from the hospital.
"The decision to go to court was not taken lightly but our priority has to be considering the needs of all our patients."
The NHS has faced mounting pressure to keep up with demand for beds this winter.
This week The Sun revealed the toll of "bed blocking" in hospitals was 52 per cent higher than five years ago.
Around 7,000 of England’s 137,000 hospital beds are filled each day by patients who should be discharged.
The shocking figures come as senior doctors and charities have warned the NHS is facing its worst winter crisis in its history, with more than half of NHS trusts declaring major alerts in the first week of January.
Data from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine showed just 77.6 per cent of patients were treated within four hours of visiting A&E — blamed on a lack of casualty medics and social care cuts.
It is the lowest since records began in 2004, and falling way short of the 95 per cent target.
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The situation is so dire the British Red Cross has branded it a humanitarian crisis.
In the first week of January the NHS faced its worst ever week, with hospitals forced to shut their doors a number of times.
At the time, at least seven trusts issued Twitter pleas to stay away unless facing a real emergency — and the British Red Cross sent in ambulances.
Just days later it emerged that four in ten hospitals were so busy they were unsafe, prompting Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to brand the NHS "unacceptable".
He said: "We need to find different ways to offer treatment to people who need to be in A&E.
"This is hardly rocket science. People who can relieve pressure on A&Es… should do so. Whilst we retain targets, we will not allow them to be followed slavishly in a way that damages patients’ care."
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