A desperate son has blasted health chiefs for failing his 98-year-old father.

Keith Barnes has lodged a formal complaint against Medway Maritime Hospital’s A&E department after his dad William was left with a blocked catheter and diarrhoea as staff argued over whose responsibility he was.

The former soldier and police officer was diagnosed with bladder cancer in July and fitted with a catheter after it was established he was incontinent.

According to his son, William was sent back to his home after his diagnosis to be cared for by his 88-year-old wife Helen, who is registered partially blind, has heart failure and high blood pressure.

Eventually a care package was set up, but 59-year-old Keith said it has been less than adequate as his father had been back to hospital several times due to problems with the catheter.

Keith said: “My mum is one of those people that won’t admit she’s defeated so if my dad comes home and he’s sick and has diarrhoea she will get stuck in and clear it up.

“It’s been a terrible state of affairs.

“My mother is having to face up to him constantly messing himself; it’s been in his hands and his hair.”

The final straw came for the family at the weekend when William, who has lived in Rosemary Avenue, Halfway, for 40 years, was taken to A&E at Medway with a blocked catheter and diarrhoea on Saturday.

Keith says he was discharged with no treatment and had to be readmitted early on Sunday morning when he claims there was an argument between the paramedics and A&E staff who did not want to admit him because they insisted the district nurse should be clearing the tube.

Keith, of Saxon Avenue, Minster, said: “The district nurses refuse to do this due to the cancer and he has now been discharged in a far worse condition than when he went in.

“When my brother went to collect him they said he was far too weak to walk and would have to remain lying down.

“Before the weekend he was able to get out of bed but now he can’t.”

The family has now tried to get great grandad-of-five William admitted to Sheppey Community Hospital but have encountered further problems there.

Even though Keith said his father’s GP has tried to get him into the hospital, he said the nurses who assessed him said he’s not ill enough to be admitted.

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Keith said his father joined the army at 21 and served in the Special Investigation Branch in India during the war.

He left in 1947 to become a police officer and worked in Ashford and returned to the Island when he was promoted to sergeant.

Keith added: “My father has been a very proud man serving his country and I would have hoped that some compassion and care could have been afforded him.

“The package they have set up is that a carer comes in for half an hour in the morning and half an hour at night.

“I’m absolutely gobsmacked at what their care arrangement is – I can’t believe that things are left like this – where his primary carer is my mother.

“They seem to have lost their care and compassion.

“It’s disgusting.

“I feel sorry for my father and my mum is really feeling it too now

“They had such a wonderful life together and for it to end like this is absolutely terrible.”

The family is now waiting to hear from the health services about whether appropriate respite care can be arranged.

Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson said he was appalled to learn of the situation after he was contacted by Keith.

He said: “I have asked for urgent action to be taken, I have asked for a solution from the chief executive, I want an apology made to the family and an assurance nothing like this will ever happen again.

“It’s absolutely atrocious.”

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Medway NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are sorry to hear that Mr Barnes has expressed concerns about his father’s care at Medway Maritime Hospital.

“We are in touch with Mr Barnes and have assured him that we will investigate the matter and do all we can to help and ensure that his father receives the high quality treatment and hospital care we are committed to delivering.”

A spokesman for NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent, which is responsible for Sheppey Community Hospital, said: “We are sorry to hear that Mr Barnes has concerns about his father’s care.

“Mr Barnes has not contacted us directly, and we would very much like to discuss his father’s care so that we can investigate the matter.

“We are committed to providing high quality care in people’s own homes and to do so in partnership with social services and other healthcare providers.

“We are ensuring that our community nursing services carry out an urgent comprehensive nursing assessment in the next 24 hours in order to ensure that all the gentlemen’s needs have been identified and met.”