"Very disappointing"

What I liked

Generally, the medical care for my father

What could be improved

Discharge planning! The quote below is from NHS Choices web pages under 'Carers assessment and hospital discharge'

"However, you should not be put under pressure to accept a caring role, or to take on more responsibility if the person you look after will need more care after their hospital stay.

The person you look after should not be discharged from hospital until they're medically fit, their needs have been assessed, and any support that they're assessed as needing as been put in place. Only then is it safe for them to be discharged."

None of the above applied in this case!

My elderly father would have been discharged alone to his 3-bed 2-storey house with no domicillary care in place after a 5 week stay had I not agreed to take him to convalesce with my family some distance away.

However, no mention was made by staff of his double-incontinence, continuing weight loss and delusion/confusion - the latter only becoming apparent to me during the hour or so after collecting him.

Anything else?

I feel that this has been a case of my father being handed on to me without a full explanation of his condition, or provision/agencies for his needs being in place - hustled out in effect to free up a bed, with the likelihood being that his further care would fall to a different PCT and county council