In 2009, my late husband was transferred to the main hospital for our district after being in the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh for a month. He was supposed to get rehab at our local hospital. (He'd had a triple graft bypass.)
After 3 days, I got a phone call at work telling me he was being discharged. I queried that, but was told quite firmly that he was coming home. I was told to pick him up at 5.
When I got to the ward, DH was in distress. I later found out that he'd been discharged at 12 noon. He'd had nothing to eat since breakfast. He was diabetic. [ETA He'd ordered a meal, but was told he couldn't have it. It now belonged to the man who got my husband's bed.]
I asked for a wheelchair, since DH could barely walk following his operation. "You'll have to get one from the front of the hospital."
I was parked round the back: there was building work and a "No Parking" sign at the front. I had to rush to the lift, go downstairs... Two patients having a fly fag outside helped me find a chair.
I ran for the car. I parked illegally at the front door. There was no way of getting from the lift to the back door at that time. Foolishly, I'd thought that the staff might get a porter to take DH to the front where I could meet him with the car. Apparently not.
Staff informed me that they'd expected me to have someone else with me. (Who? My disabled parents? As I explained, I have no siblings and no children.)
I went back in the lift. Got to the ward. Loaded up Dh and his bag. As we left, DH turned to the Charge Nurse and said "Where's the humanity?" No response.
Got back to the car with DH. Managed to get him in. Returned the chair.
Home.
The next day, our District Nurse informed me that the hospital had sent DH home with an infected wound - the operation site, the sternum area. She undoubtedly saved his life. She also thought him anaemic - he was gasping for breath - but had to tell me to call the GP - she wasn't allowed to order a blood test.
The GP arrived. "I assure you that your husband won't be anaemic. You tell me he had two blood transfusions at the Royal? The local hospital will have checked his bloods before discharge. I'll look at the computer. "
They hadn't. The bloods ordered by the GP showed that he was anaemic and iron was prescribed.
The District Nurse organised for a Cardio Nurse to visit. I told her that I couldn't understand why my husband had been discharged without his rehab. "Ah well. You see, he'd been in the Royal for so long that they naturally assumed that he'd had all that."
And there was I assuming that staff read notes.