A desperate mum has told how her disabled son has been stuck in hospital for five weeks despite being ‘fit for discharge’.
Renata Dalka from Ayr says her boy Mati Dalka, 17, is now living in Crosshouse Hospital due to an accommodation crisis for suitable housing.
The exhausted parent has been taking her son to an additional support needs school in Ayr everyday before dropping him back at his ward.
Housing chiefs are scrambling to find a suitable home for the youngster after his mum’s private let in Victoria Street was deemed unsuitable due to all the bedrooms being upstairs.
Renata is now begging the authorities to find a solution to reunite her devastated family.
The shattered mum told Ayrshire Live: “I feel hopeless, our life has been turned upside down over this. Mati is going to school and then back to the hospital, he lives in a hospital ward with other patients.
“I am exhausted. I take Mati to school every day and then I really want to bring him home but I have to drive back to the hospital."
Mati suffers from epilepsy and Glut 1 Deficiency Syndrome – a rare disorder which starves his brain of vital nutrients and energy leading to daily seizures.
He was rushed into hospital in July after seizures spiked from 20 per day to more than 200, with Mati’s fits coming once every 10 minutes.
Renata said: “Mati started to have a seizure every 10 minutes, he ended up unconscious, not able to eat or drink.
“He was put into ICU in the hospital they feared he had an infection. I was really worried. It was a really serious situation.”
Mati has since recovered and was declared ‘fit for home’ by doctors on July 25.
But the youngster has become unsteady on his feet and will now rely on a wheelchair, meaning his home with stairs is no longer suitable.
Renata has told how she was shown a smaller home in York Street that an occupational therapist said was not big enough for a wheelchair.
Now she fears she will have to up sticks and move to Tarbolton – with new accommodation not available until the end of September.
Renata said: “I don’t want to move, I have been in this home for five years, me and my two sons.
“I feel like he has been taken away from me, he is very sad, he wants to be back home.
“He wants to get back, his brother misses him.”
It is understood officers have been working tirelessly to find an appropriate home.
A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Council said they always work closely with housing applicants to meet their needs.
A spokesperson added: “Where an applicant needs specific housing to meet a medical requirement and is awaiting discharge from hospital, we will work with the hospital and the family to find a suitable property as quickly as possible.
“Where we offer an applicant a property that they think is not suitable, we will of course address their concerns, or find another more suitable property.”
NHS Ayrshire & Arran were unable to comment due to patient confidentiality.
A spokesperson from the South Ayrshire health & social care partnership said they were unable to comment on individual cases.
A spokesperson did however state: “Where risks are identified when a patient is ready to be discharged we will work to ensure that these risks are resolved as part of the discharge planning process to allow patients to return home to the safest environment possible at the earliest opportunity.”
Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
