Duty of Care

[Mimilamore]

My husband who has many medical conditions had to attend a specialist eye appointment today. As I don’t drive and he would have had drops in his eyes he went by hospital transport as advised NOT to drive.
Foul wet weather and an 8 . 30 appointment. I am his carer but seats are not available for carers.
He is collected at about 7.20. The centre is just outside a village which is near the next town to us.
Some of the roads were flooded and some were closed with diversion signs, the driver had not been to this clinic before.
The route they had to take, it was still quite dark, confused my husband.
Eventually they arrived at the small warehouse park where the clinic is situated, my husband says no sign was visible because of the poor light and driving rain. They missed the turning and ended up on the other side of the park.
My husband unwisely thought he could find the clinic from there and said he would be fine… the driver left him. Husband became confused, walked into flood water covered in leaves as he thought it was firm ground, soaked to mid calf. His energy was very low ( he has HF and AF) and felt panicky. He did however find his way to the clinic by heading for the lights and after some problems getting through the security button arrived at his appointment. Here is okay as they hung his mac up to dry but he still had wet socks and shoes and feet….
He was seen quickly and then had a 3 hour wait for return trip. I understand this… busy people but he was still soaked.
My query is, should the driver have ensured that my husband entered the correct building, he is logged as needing an arm for support.
By the time he got home he was really cold and weak. He didn’t help himself by saying drop off was fine but I would think that the driver had a duty of care to ensure my husband actually went into correct building and through security to the desk.
Would I have grounds for a complaint?
Thank you

If they’ve got capacity then they can make his own decisions which your DH did

does he have dementia or any other issues

he’s not a child he’s a fully capable adult if he’d fit enough to drive then he must have capacity to make decisions

Agree with others. How has he been able to drive in the past? Sounds dangerous.

Not always. There is hospital transport as well.

I wouldn’t complain but I would have a chat with your husband about accepting or asking for support if he might need it. Really, he told the driver he would be fine, the driver doesn’t know him and can only accept his decision rather than argue and insist on accompanying him based on nothing.

The OP literally says her husband "is logged as needing an arm for support " 🙄

So fully mental capacity then

I didn't say he didn't have full mental capacity 🤷‍♀️
I originally responded to a post saying that OP's husband wasn't blind so why did he need to be walked to the clinic doors- I said because he needed an arm for support. Then someone else responded to that post saying that OP didn't say her DH needed any physical help, and I merely pointed out that, actually, OP DID say that.
I didn't comment on whether the DH was in the wrong, the driver was in the wrong, whether a complaint should be made, or whether the DH was mentally capable of making his own decisions.

I don't think drivers do have that responsibility. I have accompanied people on hospital transport before as they needed a carer to ensure their safety. If there are further appointments you need to let them know he needs the assistance of a carer for safety. They probably say no seat for a carer as they will have people who try and get a spot when it isn't essential.

Did you expect the driver to manhandle your DH when the mentally competent man said he'd be OK?

No carers allowed

Yes he should have

The transport is for people who need support.

They have a duty of care as well

Those of you who think the driver should have ignored the mentally competent adult's wishes and decided to physically grab them to escort them are probably the same people who think they are being "helpful" by pushing other people's wheelchairs and talking s-l-o-w-l-y to deaf people

No. It's the fact that you are supposed to drop them off at the location and not elsewhere.

He dropped him off at the location, just because it was the other side of the car park doesn't mean it wasn't the location. He didn't drop him on the road outside or in the middle of nowhere

DH was also asked and said it was fine. He is a mentally competent adult who has that right.

It's not the location and old people don't like making a fuss. Had he fallen do you think that would be fair

And there we go - "well, yes he is an adult but he's too much of an adult and doesn't really know what's best for him"

You said he was unwise to think he could make it, but he got there fine, just wet. Don't think it needs a complaint.

To clarify, it wasn’t volunteer transport, it was arranged through G4s who have been really efficient in the past. He doesn’t drive. I have said that he didn’t help by saying he was fine where he was dropped off and that was why I was asking if I should raise a complaint, or if he should…I can’t travel with him as I would take up a seat that might be needed for another patient. I have “ had words” with my husband as suggested. He does have capacity but was, due to the weather, unsure of where to go ( no lit up signage)
Anyway, I won’t be making a complaint and thank you to those who responded without the slightly aggressive and accusatory air.

The lesson here is, your husband needs to speak up if he needs something. He told the driver he was fine.

Im on the list to do some volunteer driving for patient transport but this is putting me off, that someone with capacity would complain about me in this type of situation.

Was there a reason you didn’t go with him by taxi though?

Maybe it was cost (not everyone can afford a bloomin taxi for goodness sake) or maybe it’s because they used this before and it was fine. Why shouldn’t they use transport that is designated for this purpose? I don’t think it is worth a complaint but I think the words that you’ve had with your husband about speaking up are good. I think it was also one of those things that on a day that wasn’t rainy and dark he would have been fine but neither driver nor your DH thought this through properly given that weather and these things happen.

Make a complaint about the building not being lit up and the lack of signage sure but not about the driver

If I was his carer, I would've gotten a taxi and ensured I was there for the apt. The hospital transport is surely just that, the transport and if they needed extra help and support, that would be provided by the carer?

Your husband is an adult who told the driver he was fine

Your husband is an adult who could have taken his wet socks and shoes off whilst waiting for the return transport

What on earth have you got to complain about?

You were provided with transport and STILL you are unhappy 🙄

Whilst I agree that a driver isn't the same as a carer, the driver should've been more organised and done some research into the location of the clinic, if they'd never been there before. They also should've tried a bit harder to persuade your husband to stay in the vehicle so he could be dropped off outside,especially when they ended up on "the other side" of a park; I wouldn't want to walk through a park on my own in the dark,never mind during/after heavy rain.
As other people have said, some of these drivers are volunteers,so maybe don't feel they are able to disagree with passengers when they say they're OK, which is understandable.
I wouldn't necessarily "complain",but you should definitely contact the company to let them know what has happened,and see what they say about it.
Hope your husband is feeling better.