A MAN is demanding an apology from doctors who failed to tell him they had transferred his elderly father to a hospital more than 90 miles away.

Bus driver Malcolm Smailes said he should have been consulted about the move by staff at the intensive care unit at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

He believes his father's health has been affected by the transfer to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, and fears the 70-year-old will feel confused, isolated and alone.

His wife, Maria, is also furious that staff failed to contact her, even though she works at the Royal Sussex.

She said: "It is a three or four minute walk from intensive care to the department where I work. Why someone did not come over in person and tell me John was being moved I do not know.

"I am very angry and upset. Now he is miles away and we did not even get to say goodbye."

Mr Smailes was admitted to the intensive care unit on New Year's Day after falling down the stairs and breaking several ribs and his collar- bone.

Mr Smailes, who also suffers from angina, was having difficulty breathing and was experiencing sharp pains in his chest.

Malcolm, 42, of Station Road, Portslade, said: "My father has no family or friends in Canterbury. I spoke to the hospital today and they told me he has a suspected chest infection. I believe the move has contributed to the decline in his health.

"At the moment I cannot even phone him to see if he is all right. He has been put on a ventilator and cannot speak."

Mr Smailes said doctors should have made sure he was informed about the transfer before taking action.

He said: "Staff at the hospital know I am a bus driver and they must have known I would be working all day.

"When I got home I heard a message on my answering machine asking me to call the hospital. I called the intensive care unit and was shocked to hear my father had been moved without my knowledge or consent."

Mr Smailes said the last few days had been extremely distressing for his family.

"My father is a sick man. But I was not given the opportunity to talk to him or reassure him before he left. I never even had the chance to say goodbye.

"My wife and I work unusual hours and it may be days before I can drive to Canterbury to see him.

"I just wish someone had told us so we could have waved him goodbye and let him know we were thinking of him."

A spokesman for the Royal Sussex County Hospital said staff did all they could to contact Mr Smailes.

He said: "The decision to transfer Mr Smailes was made at 10.30 on Friday morning. A nurse tried to contact his son throughout the day and left several messages for him. Mr Smailes did not get in touch and his father was finally moved at 4pm.

"We very much regret having to move Mr Smailes' father, but it was a clinical necessity.

"The intensive care department has been very full for the past two to three weeks due to the flu and other illnesses. Sadly, transfers to other hospitals happen more often than we would like."

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