A grandmother is stuck in a hospital miles from home because there are no beds available locally.

Sylvia Jarvis, 61, was rushed into hospital eight weeks ago with kidney failure, pneumonia and blood poisoning.

Doctors at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, put her onto a ventilator and admitted her to intensive care.

They told her husband, Jim, 62, that she was dangerously ill and he should prepare for the worst.

But he was shocked when hospital bosses told him next day she was being moved because they needed her intensive care bed.

Mr Jarvis, of North Lane, Portslade, said: "Just a few hours earlier they thought any one of the three things she had wrong with her could kill her.

"At first they said she would be going to Haywards Heath and then they changed it to Bromley in Kent.

"They said that because she was sedated she would not know she was being moved and it would not affect her as much as the other patients."

Since then Mr Jarvis has been making the 150-mile round trip to Bromley Hospital every day.

Mr Jarvis said his carer's allowance had been while she was in hospital but still had to pay for petrol and parking at Bromley.

He said: "Sylvia is recovering slowly and is now awake and aware of what is going on around her, and knows that she is miles from home.

"She can't talk and seven weeks in bed has affected her muscles so she is too weak to even write.

"She is becoming very depressed because she can't communicate and can only see me for two hours each day."

Mr Jarvis wrote to Brighton Health Care NHS Trust asking for his wife to be moved back from Bromley.

Dr Martin Street, consultant manager of the intensive care unit, told him there was an acute shortage of beds.

He said six intensive care patients from the Brighton area were currently being treated at other hospitals.

He said: "We will endeavour to have Sylvia transferred back to Brighton as soon as possible.

"But in view of the current situation this may take some considerable time.

"Now that the general election is imminent, contacting your local MP or newspaper may achieve more than I can within the hospital system."

Brighton Health Care NHS Trust was unavailable for a comment.