Transfusion needed after hip op

Marjorie and Maurice Cardew said the experience upset them

A man sent home just three days after a hip operation needed an emergency blood transfusion following the surgery at a privately-run NHS treatment centre.

Maurice Cardew, 79, from Helston, Cornwall, had the surgery at Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre in Plymouth.

An orthopaedic surgeon described the decision to send him home as "shocking" after Mr Cardew had to spend a week at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.

The Peninsula Centre said policies on discharging patients have been revised.

Mr Cardew had the hip replacement at the centre last August. It meant a shorter wait than having it done in Cornwall.

It was frightening Marjorie Cardew

But during a three-hour drive home in a hospital car through summer traffic after he was discharged, he started losing large quantities of blood.

He had an emergency blood transfusion at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, where he stayed for a week.

Mr Cardew said of the incident: "The interruption affected me a lot, mentally it did."

His wife, Marjorie, added that it was "very upsetting".

She said: "It was frightening. The nurse came and called the doctor and when he came he was disgusted."

'Valuable resource'

An orthopaedic surgeon who saw Mr Cardew at the Royal Cornwall Hospital said his early discharge was "shocking".

The Peninsula Centre, which revised its policies on discharging patients in the light of Mr Cardew's case, is one of a new breed of hospitals run by private companies to treat NHS patients.

But the British Medical Association has expressed concern about the quality of care provided and a House of Commons select committee is now to review what they do.

But the company that runs the Peninsula Centre says they are a valuable resource.

Dr Grant Rex of the Partnership Care Group said: "In our opinion, they're working excellently. They're taking people off the waiting lists.

"Over 200,000 people have been treated at these centres since they started two years ago."