HOSPITAL bosses have issued a review after a patient was refused help to cover the cost of getting to an operation early in the morning.
The patient, from the Worthing area, was told they had to get to St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester by 6.45am for orthopaedic surgery.
This was because operations normally carried out at Southlands Hospital in Shoreham had to be diverted to Chichester because of problems with its operating theatre.
The patient was told they could not get any assistance to pay for a taxi or overnight accommodation in Chichester.
A Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust board meeting was told that patients were not normally asked to arrive so early so the case would be reviewed.
The trust says it takes a flexible approach to assisting patients and would consider some financial assistance where this was absolutely necessary.
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