Maybe one of you knows a bit about NHS admin?

[HarrietteVane]

I truly hope you all had a better Christmas than me, since mine featured DH in emergency surgery for 5 hours, which was a bit of a shock.😯

It also means we're stranded 200 miles from home as we were on a family visit when it happened. So that's a bit of a bugger.

We're OK to stay where we are for another week but after that the kids need to be back in school and I need to be with them. So possibly 200 miles away from DH, but within 3 miles of a very large and busy training university hospital.

Moving DH to our local 'home' hospital would be an obvious answer, but when I ask about a transfer I get mixed answers from the staff at the hospital - even the positive ones are not giving me any clues on what the actual process is.

So I guess...does anyone know if NHS can transfer patients between hospitals for non clinical reasons? And if so, how the hell it can be done?

I'd leave him where he is OP, let him recover then collect him once he's better. I'm sure he will be fine

My experienced of a relative being transferred for clinical reasons was that the communication between the hospital was dreadful.
Glaucoma med lost , no continuity in treatment for his condition which was sepsis that spread/originated from a pacemaker.
So again I'd leave him where he is .

Another one reiterating what pp have said. Recovery from these types of operations isn't always straightforward. My Dept places PICC lines for TPN on people whose gut is not returning to normal function as soon as expected all the time. And drains where abscesses and collections have formed. Some people unfortunately have a very stormy recovery. It's best he stays with the team that know him for the time being.

As for repatriation it can be very difficult especially at this time of year.
Our hospital is also in a popular destination and this time of year we get lots of elderly who were visiting relatives and had a fall. The hospital is keen to clear beds by repatriating but the hospital the other end can be very resistant to finding room. One year we had a patient (#NOF) who needed to go to the other end of the country and honestly the ward were only half joking when they suggested the only way to get that hospital to accept the patient would be to have an ambulance deliver the patient to the A&E and leave them there.

Then there's the issue of finding a spare ambulance that can be given up for the whole day to make the round trip as @Thelavhaxmas mentioned.

It's honestly best he is well recovered and you collect him and take the journey gently.

Bloody love Mumsnet for things like this!
Hope your DH makes a good recovery, and also if any family can continue to visit him, my limited experience of NHS as a visitor and patient is that the food isn't always as good for gut motility as would be wished, so if someone can bring in food that will help.
Also shoutout to the surgeon- love this kind of thing.

You're bang on @sodrab - makes me quite emotional the time and expertise people will give to a stranger. I'm old enough to remember when Mumsnet started and this has always been the best sort of thread.

I think it's going to be a bumpy ride so we'll sit tight and delay any decisions about transfer until an appropriate time. It helps two of the kids are old enough to go home and look after themselves for a few days (sixth form) so we have a little bit more flexibility.

Thanks to all of you for experience and expertise!

OP - it’s always tricky being in hospital over Christmas as continuity of care is not quite as good.
Reassure DH that normal service will be resumed now that Christmas is done and dusted. Being a marathon runner will really help with his ability to bounce back and recover.
2 tips for speedy recovery …
Sitting upright rather than lying flat , and doing some deep breathing exercises will help to prevent chest infection ( very common after emergency bowel surgery)

Being mobile ie walking around the ward a few times a day will help speed up bowels recovery to normal function .