A MAN says he has been left with no choice but to sleep in his car after he was discharged from hospital in Dumfries without anywhere to go.
And the discharge last week of Michael Boustead from Midpark Hospital has sparked debate about the lack of aftercare and safety nets for the elderly in Scotland.
Mr Boustead, 68, had been receiving treatment for PTSD, which he says he developed after sepsis, a bad bout of covid and long covid.
He told DNG Media this week: “I’m sleeping out of my car now. I had hoped that someone would be able to save me from this, but now I have nowhere to stay.
“I was originally planning to stay with my cousin, but the early discharged has caused that plan to fall through.
“I haven’t been given aftercare or respite for my issues, and it feels as though I’m just being juggled between different services rather than being supported.
“I can understand how so many other people who have slipped through the cracks of the system have felt now. There are probably thousands of people like me.”
After this paper contacted South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth, he and his team have reached out to try and help Michael.
Commenting, Colin said: “No-one in a vulnerable position should be discharged from hospital without adequate support and evidence that they have somewhere to stay, so this is a deeply worrying case.
“My office has spoken at length with Mr Boustead and we’ve been in touch with the NHS and council.
“We are seeking to help ensure he is able to find somewhere at the very least on a temporary basis to sleep and will do everything we can to assist him get the support he so obviously needs.
“Mr Boustead has clearly fallen through the growing cracks of a health and social care system that is increasingly broken.
“Staff are working round the clock, but from older people stuck in hospital because they have no social care at home, to inadequate suitable housing, it’s clear that our health and social case system is just not working.”
