THE daughter of an elderly man found dead more than a week after he went missing?in last month's heavy snow has criticised a hospital for letting him leave during the adverse weather.
The?body of retired journalist Eric Burley was found on Saturday, December 11, in the grounds of an empty house about a mile from his Ewhurst home.
The 87-year-old?had last been seen on November 30 as he prepared to leave Guildford’s Royal Surrey County Hospital following a CT scan.
It was dark and?snowing at the time, and traffic in Guildford was gridlocked.
Now his daughter Julia has said: "I was devastated by the hospital’s lack of care towards my father."
Mr Burley had recently been diagnosed with cancer and had also suffered a minor fall, which affected his mobility.
When he left to drive himself to hospital for his 3pm appointment, the sky in Ewhurst was clear and there was little snow.
However, the conditions had seriously deteriorated by the time he set back out to make his way home, shortly before 5.15pm.
Police mounted extensive searches in a bid to try and find Mr Burley, utilising the police helicopter and four-wheel drive vehicles.
He was eventually found close to his car in the extensive grounds of a house in Peaslake Road.
It is believed he ended up there on the day of his hospital appointment, though nobody knows why or how.
“I know he was only found a mile away, but if you ignore that, the police have been fantastic to us – they really have been brilliant,” said Miss Burley, who shares the home where her father lived with her mother, Margaret.
Mr Burley’s body was only discovered?when someone went to check on the house, which has been unoccupied.
A post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death was due to take place on Thursday (December 16).
"Unnecessary risk"
“I pray to God that he had a heart attack and died quickly,” said Miss Burley, who believes he had probably become disorientated as a result of the weather and traffic conditions.
“It’s been very difficult for my mother and for me,” said Miss Burley. “You are frozen in time, waiting.”
She said that when he came to leave the hospital, staff insisted that he used a wheelchair to get to his car.
“I cannot believe they wheeled an 87-year-old man with cancer and mobility problems and let him drive off in his car into snow and gridlocked traffic,” said Miss Burley.
Even if he had insisted on driving, she said at the very least hospital staff should have telephoned her to explain the situation.
“My father had been driving for 70-odd years and was a competent driver, as well as being physically fitter than I am with my arthritis, but in those horrendous conditions he must have been so tired.
“He should have taken hospital transport or EwCare [a local voluntary ‘good neighbour’ scheme], but he liked driving. He had taken hospital transport once and said it was so bumpy,” said Miss Burley.
Accusing the hospital of failing in their duty of care to her father?- and pointing out how quickly the police launched a search for him - she said: “The police obviously considered him highly vulnerable.
“His death was unnecessary – it was an unnecessary risk he was allowed to take,” said Miss Burley.
A hospital spokesman said: “If hospital staff have any concerns about a patient’s health and wellbeing during an outpatients appointment, the patient’s consultant is asked to review the patient to make absolutely sure that they are fit to go home.
“In the case of this patient, no concerns were raised.
“The patient was helped to his car due to the icy conditions under foot. As he had driven himself to the appointment, staff did not doubt his ability to drive himself home.
“We extend our condolences to Mr Burley’s family at this difficult time,”?the spokesman?added.
Mr Burley’s funeral will take place at noon on Thursday, December 23, at Ewhurst Parish Church, on what would have been his 88th birthday.
The family has requested no flowers, but that any donations should be made to Wildlife Aid in Leatherhead.
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