A hospital sent a war veteran back to his “Covid-free” care home days before his test came back positive.
Within a week, all but two of the 20 residents tested positive. Roger Waluube owner of Pelham House in Folkestone, Kent, told the Mirror a “nightmare” began last Thursday.
Former RAF engineer Francis Chapman, 96, spent that night in A&E at William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, after feeling unwell but was sent home next day.
On Monday his Covid-19 test came back positive - by Thursday it had swept through the home. S
taff also tested positive. Mr Waluube said: “It was like the end of everything. For eight, nine, ten weeks, we stayed Covid-free.
“I just felt despair. Despair he didn’t get the treatment he deserved. Despair for the other residents and for the staff.
“They pushed us into taking him back before they had the results of his test. It’s beyond careless. It’s a nightmare.”
Mr Waluube, who said Mr Chapman was isolated on his return, said seven of the 18 residents with the virus had no symptoms but “five are quite poorly”.
The daughters of war veteran Francis were told yesterday he was struggling to breathe. He is being moved to a hospice. His daughter Diane Baker, 68, said: “Because he is 96 I feel they have fobbed him off. He may be elderly but he is still entitled to NHS care.”
East Kent Hospital NHS Trust said: “The patient came with coronavirus symptoms.
"Results confirm he [already] had [it]. He did not need admitting. He was tested before being discharged.
“Guidance for hospitals and care homes is that discharged individuals should be isolated the same way as a Covid-positive individual would be, pending the test result. There is support for care homes who do not feel they can provide appropriate care.”
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