Woman forced to walk home at 2.30am

STACY SQUIRES/Fairfax NZ

MOVED ON: Rosalie Thomas fears another patient could be hurt if, like her, they were left to walk home in the early hours after discharge.

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A Christchurch woman says she was forced to walk home at 2.30am after being discharged from Christchurch Hospital.

Rosalie Thomas, 59, suffered an angina attack and was taken to hospital about two weeks ago.

"I didn't want to go to hospital really, but the paramedics said I had to, so I went in quite late," Thomas said.

"I was in a nightie and dressing gown and didn't have any money or my phone on me."

She was discharged about 2am and had "no way to get home".

"The nurse told me to call a taxi and ask if I could pay them later, but I rang one company and they said `no'," she said.

"Then after about half an hour they said they would give me $3.40 to catch a bus, but I would have to wait until the buses started in the morning."

Thomas said she did not want to "sit in the waiting room for hours".

"I was stressed out and I just wanted to get home to my own bed," she said.

She then walked to her Linwood home.

"I wanted to go the way that had the most lights, so I walked along Moorhouse Ave, up Fitzgerald Ave and then down Linwood Ave. It was just before five when I got home."

Nobody stopped to help her, she said.

"I'm just really concerned that this is a big safety issue," she said. "Someone else might have been attacked or something. I must have looked ridiculous walking down Moorhouse Ave at that time in my dressing gown.

"Anything could happen and maybe I was just lucky, or maybe I looked a bit mad so people avoided me."

Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) Christchurch Hospital quality manager Shona MacMillan said she could not comment on an individual patient for "privacy reasons".

"However, the CDHB encourages patients to let us know, preferably in writing or by calling customer services via the main hospital telephone number, if they are not happy with any aspect of the care provided to them."

She said staff made "every attempt" to help with transport, including providing access to phones to call relatives and friends.

"If a patient is elderly or physically unable to get home and do not have any family member or friends available to pick them up, the CDHB will explore other options, which can include assistance with a taxi fare," MacMillan said.

"If the patient is well enough to organise their own transport but have no family or friends able to collect them at a particular time, they are welcome to wait in the waiting area until they have someone available to collect them.

"If not, staff can help with contact details and timetables of public transport providers, including bus services."

Emergency department social workers also helped ensure safe discharges from hospitals, she said.

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