Blind stroke patient, 79, died from pneumonia after being left outside in the rain by hospital nurses



Retired farmer Frank Kelly was left in a hospital car park in just his pyjamas



His son found him outside in the rain when he arrived for his daily visit



Mr Kelly died of pneumonia three months after the incident in Dec 2010



His family received payout and apology from Worcestershire Royal Hospital



The family of a blind stroke patient who died from pneumonia after being left outside in the pouring rain by bungling hospital nurses has received a payout from the NHS.



Frank Kelly, 79, was wearing just his pyjamas when nurses 'lost him' and he was left in a car park outside Worcestershire Royal Hospital in December 2010.

The retired farmer developed pneumonia and died three months later.

His family have now received an undisclosed payout from the NHS after reaching an out-of-court settlement .



Poor treatment: Frank Kelly, 79, died of pneumonia three months after nurses left him outside Worcester Royal Hospital wearing just pyjamas in the rain

Apology: Worcestershire Royal Hospital has apologised for Mr Kelly's poor treatment during his five-month stay at the hospital and his family has received an undisclosed payout from the NHS

They also received an apology after it emerged the incident was just one in a catalogue of errors during Mr Kelly's five-month stay at the hospital.



The retired farmer was admitted to Worcestershire Royal Hospital in November 2010 after suffering a second stroke which left him blind.

But the family soon took up a 24-hour rota at his bedside after being shocked by the 'appalling' care he received from doctors and nurses.



On one visit to the hospital, Frank's son Martin, 51, found his father stood in the middle of the car park wearing nothing but his sodden pyjamas on a rainy day in December 2010.

It later emerged he had wandered into the car park after the nurses who were moving him to a new ward lost him.

Care: The family of Mr Kelly, pictured being shaved by his son Matthew while in hospital, say staff were too busy to acre for their father and frequently failed to feed him

Dinner time: Mr Kelly's family visited him every day to feed him after being shocked at the 'appalling' care at Worcestershire Royal Hospital

Martin said: 'When I turned up to see my dad in the car park, I was stunned, I couldn't believe it.



'I stopped the car, raced over and told him I was there.

'It's so sad to think that he worked his whole life and when it came to it, he couldn't even get decent hospital care.

' We all believe that with better care we could have had dad home again.'

In February 2011, just a few months after being left in the car park in the middle of winter, Frank died.



Frank Kelly was admitted to the hospital in November 2010 after suffering a second stroke

Martin, from St John's in Worcester, yesterday said the incident was part of a long-running series of mistreatment that bordered on 'cruelty' and a breach of his human rights.

Martin and the rest of his family received a financial settlement from the hospital after one of Frank's own medical team advised them to take action.



Martin added: 'He was not fed properly, they didn't seem to realise that he was blind. We had to take in food every day.

'He was dehydrated all the time and the communication on the wards was just appalling. We were begging for help but he was never given a chance.



'The hospital has admitted a total failure of care and that dad had an awful slice of the cake.

'We didn't do this for any financial reasons, we did it to try and highlight the failings and ensure this sort of thing does not happen to anyone else.



'We have been told it is improving but we are not convinced and we do fear what sort of care we would get if we were ever unfortunate enough to need them again.'



He added that the health system had 'too many managers in suits' at the expense of nurses devoted to care.



In a letter to Frank's widow Anne, 78, Chief executive Penny Venables said: 'I am acutely conscious that these improvements came too late to positively influence your father's experience and that is a matter of deep regret.



'I can fully understand how angry and frustrated you must have felt about the care he received at the time and how painful it must have been for you to witness his suffering.



'I have taken their concerns extremely seriously and am determined that standards across the trust will continue to be raised.

Let down: Members of the Kelly family, from left are brothers Martin, Brian, Matthew and Frank's widow Anne, with their letter of apology from the health authority

'Everyone is committed to providing the highest quality care for all patients and striving to continuously improve the care we offer.'

Ms Venables added: 'I have met with Mr Kelly’s family to discuss with them the concerns that they have raised. I have also written to them to apologise for the care he was given.



'I have taken their concerns extremely seriously and am determined that standards across the Trust will continue to be raised.



'Everyone at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is committed to providing the highest quality care for all patients and striving to continuously improve the care we offer.

' We have invited Mr Kelly’s family to visit the ward where he was treated to see for themselves the improvements that have been made. I realise that it may be too soon for them to visit but the offer will remain open to them in the future.'

Happier times: Frank pictured smiling with his wife Anne in 2002 before he suffered his first stroke







