A terminally ill 73-year-old man has been stuck in hospital for nearly 11 weeks because there is nowhere else for him to go.

Francis Johnson, from Hailsham, who suffers from motor neurone disease (MND) has been at Eastbourne District General Hospital for the last 75 days.

The severity of his illness means he needs round-the-clock support from two carers, but his daughter argues this should be at home or in a nursing home rather than in hospital.

Frances Neville, a housewife from Cowbeech, said: “He is medically fit for discharge from hospital, but there is nowhere for him to go.

“We should be entitled to funding for the two full-time carers he needs through continuing healthcare but it doesn’t seem to be coming.

“He has resigned himself to the fact that he is going to a home now rather than going back to his house but he is still in hospital with no sign of discharge.”

Mr Johnson was diagnosed with MND last year.

The disease has left him bedbound and needing support with every aspect of day-to-day living.

Since then, his daughter and her uncle have been caring for him at home.

But he was admitted to Eastbourne Hospital with sepsis and a urinary infection in March and has been there ever since despite having got over the infection.

Mrs Neville said: “We have been promised all kinds of things, like a place for dad at the The Chaseley Trust care home in Eastbourne.

“One social worker told us we weren’t going to get that.

“No one here seems to have knowledge or experience of MND, with one ward sister asking dad when he was going to walk again as he had been in bed for so long.

“It was very upsetting and frustrating for him.

“We have no facility in the South East for people struggling with this awful disease.

“There should be a dedicated unit for motor neurone disease and a co-ordinator to fast-track their care.

“Funding is currently still being argued, because while they agree dad needs two carers, it isn’t clear if he is entitled to continuing healthcare through the NHS or whether dad’s care should be the responsibility of social services.”

A spokeswoman for Eastbourne Hospital said: “I cannot comment on this specific case as I do not know the man.

“I would recommend that the family speak to the head of nursing in the department he is in.

“In general, we do what we can to provide the best care for our patients.”

Mrs Neville said: “We had a meeting with the CHC people last Friday and they are looking into my dad’s situation but it is still unclear what will happen.

“I hope he fits the criteria needed for the funding.

“I think it is appalling that we have to wait for so long to know what will happen.

“Despite all of this, my dad is a positive person as he always has been. But it is heartbreaking that he has been stuck in hospital for so long.

“He has always been very active, going fishing and shooting and so on.

“He just wants to be outside and he would be happy if we could wheel his bed out.”