"A breakdown in communication"

Elderly mother who had fractured her hip overseas was transferred to IRH where she received very good care in the ward environment. She is unable to mobilise and cannot weight bear through her left leg  and cannot stand unsupported. 

 Sadly when she was due to be discharged home the ambulance crew declined to wait until medication arrived in the ward. I was told by the nurse in charge they were asked to wait only a few minutes. Scottish Ambulance Service were unable to transport my mum home and contacted Red Cross to request their transport. Unfortunately when they arrived they informed my mother that they would not be able to take her home as they had not been told that she was non weight bearing and she would need carried up stairs. At sometime in the proceedings she was taken from the ward and left to sit in a communal waiting area with the general public. She was not under the supervision of any member of staff. At this time we are unclear how long she sat alone in the general waiting area. Potentially up to 2 hours. She had no means of alerting the ward what had happened, access to toilet facilities or a hot drink. It was not until a member of nursing staff from A&E alerted her ward that she was sitting alone with no means of moving herself or raising the alarm. I contacted the ward that evening to find out what had happened and I spoke with nurse in charge who apologised and accepted that there had been a significant lapse in communication. they informed me they planned to Datix the incident as is procedure & would contact my father the next day. A phone call  was not received.

I asked the nurse in charge if there was a discharge lounge where patients await discharge in a supervised environment. I was told that this was not currently open. 

I feel there has been a breakdown in communication and am very disappointed with the level of services for patients being discharged. A vulnerable elderly lady was left alone in a public area with no adequate supervision. There should be adequate funding available to provide a supervised discharge lounge for patients awaiting ambulance transport and have support when the system fails