Hospital kicked mum and tot '˜into the rain'

A pregnant woman and her toddler son were left stranded at a hospital without coats or shoes and told to find their own way home.
Nevaeh Perry-Bartlett with baby KealanNevaeh Perry-Bartlett with baby Kealan
Nevaeh Perry-Bartlett with baby Kealan

Nevaeh Perry-Bartlett, 35, from Adeyfield, and 14-month-old son Kealan were blue-lighted from Watford General to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire in an ambulance when the youngster suffered burns after accidentally knocking over a cup of tea.

The tot’s wounds were dressed but after the pair were discharged at around 9.30pm, with Mrs Perry-Bartlett – who is nearly eight months pregnant – shocked to find she would have to find her own way back to Hemel, despite being told by paramedics that transport would be arranged.

The mother-of-three, who is also mum to Zephan, 14, and 11-year-old Talia-Mae, said: “They handed me a number for a taxi firm and said I would have to find my own way home, but I had no coat and was just wearing slippers, and Kealan had no coat either.

“I said it was ridiculous and they did give me a blanket for Kealan, but I’ve never been to Aylesbury before so I had no idea where I was going.

“My husband had followed us over on his motorbike but obviously wasn’t able to take us back on that, so he gave me his credit card so I could get a ticket for the train home.”

But once she got to Aylesbury railway station in the rain, the stay-at-home-mum – who suffers from night blindness – realised that Hemel was not on the Marylebone line and she would have to go into London, meaning they would not arrive home until 1am.

Mrs Perry-Bartlett was left with no choice but to get a taxi, and a driver at the taxi rank outside the station offered to drive her home to Hemel for less than £40.

She finally arrived at her mum’s house in Bennetts End, where she was able to change out of her sopping wet slippers.

She said: “I am disgusted at our hospital services. We were kicked out into the cold and just left to find our own way home.”

In a letter to Mrs Perry-Bartlett, the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust’s complaint manager Julia Phelan said: “I am sorry to read of the concerns raised and would like to assure you an investigation has been instigated on behalf of the chief executive and in accordance with the trust’s complaints procedure.”

A spokesman for the trust said: “We have taken Mrs Perry-Bartlett’s complaint extremely seriously and are currently looking into the matter with our staff to establish exactly what happened.

“We have options in place for transfer to and from hospital for patients who need it, and we will be working with Mrs Perry-Bartlett and our colleagues to understand whether there was anything we needed to have done differently.”

A response from the trust is due within 40 days.