Frail patient sent home barefoot in gown

A dementia patient was discharged from a Black Country hospital barefoot, unwashed and wearing only a gown, it emerged today.

The family of great-grandmother-of-six Florence Smith said they were shocked at her appearance when she arrived home in an ambulance from Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital.

Health bosses have since apologised for Mrs Smith's treatment, admitting she suffered a "traumatic experience".

A matron from the hospital has written to the family of the 79-year-old apologising for the "very upsetting experience".

Mrs Smith's daughter Anita Millard, who shares a house in Willenhall with her mother, said she was shocked at the condition in which she was discharged following a three-night stay in New Cross with a chest complaint.