A hospital has apologised after an elderly couple spent more than 12 hours waiting for a scan to be carried out after being sent to the wrong unit.

Donald Rouse and his wife Eileen attended Medway Maritime Hospital at 8.30am on Friday, June 28 for a scheduled kidney scan.

Mr Rouse had an appointment and arrived at 8.30am.

Earlier this year, the resident of Brownhill Close, Walderslade had a kidney removed after it was found to be cancerous and the scan was his six-month check up.

He was on a drip for four hours before going for his scan at 2pm as scheduled.

The couple were sent to the Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) unit but were unsure if they were in the right place.

Medway Maritime Hospital opened the SDEC unit at the end of last month, and it was the first unit of its kind in the region.

Mr Rouse was due to undergo another drip before leaving the hospital.

They were repeatedly told by staff that they didn’t know why they were there.

The 84-year-old said: “We were waiting for three hours. Eventually, a nurse came along and said, ‘What are you here for?’”

Mrs Rouse added: “At 6.10pm we got called in and the woman said she was going to take some bloods but we said we weren’t there for that.

“She didn’t know what was happening. They kept asking us why we were there. The staff were okay, but it was so disorganised.

“They shouldn’t have sent us there to that ward.”

Mr Rouse was put on another drip that evening, but the couple did not leave the hospital until 9.15pm. He is still waiting for the results of his scan.

"She didn’t know what was happening. They kept asking us why we were there" - Donald Rouse

He said: “It was just disorganised really, even though I had all the details arranged beforehand and I was an outpatient.”

They have sent a letter of complaint to the hospital, and were told they will receive a reply by Thursday, August 15.

The hospital’s director of operations, Kevin Cairney, said: “We are sorry that Mr Rouse’s care fell short of the standard we expect.

“His visit took place during the week our SDEC centre opened and, as you would expect with any new service, we did experience some teething problems.

“However, work is ongoing to address these and we have a dedicated team focussing on making improvements."

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