A STROKE patient who had to wait for months in hospital is now in the care of a nursing home.

Violet Sullivan — known as Noreen by her long-term partner Tom Simmonds, of Gors Avenue, Townhill, Swansea — suffered a stroke in October.

She was ready to be discharged on December 4 after treatment at first Morriston, and then Singleton Hospital, but a delay in paperwork meant she had to stay put until January, and that delay meant new rules governing nursing homes came into force.

The rules give local authority social services more powers to ensure nursing home clients are being treated properly, but difficulties on the budgetary side of things have led to a handful of nursing homes in Swansea not signing up. One of those was Morris House in Eton Crescent, Uplands, the first choice of home for Ms Sullivan.

Mr Simmonds said: "Everything was agreed with Morris House. But Noreen wasn't discharged in December, and then I had a call saying she wasn't allowed to go to Morris House because they hadn't signed the contract."

Mr Simmonds contacted the Evening Post for help in finding out the reason for the delay — and why the rules couldn't be bent for Noreen to go to Morris House as they had planned.

A spokesman for the local health board said the delay was down to the completion of the formal paperwork for Ms Sullivan's discharge, and other clinical issues, so she would not have been eligible for discharge until January 1 at the earliest.

He also said the LHB had to make sure Ms Sullivan would be properly looked after.

He added: "When a patient is discharged from one of our hospitals into an independent nursing home, we need to be sure the ongoing care is appropriate for their needs.

"The family has told us they are satisfied with the care provided at Singleton Hospital, and we want to ensure this continues in the community."

Now Ms Sullivan is at the Old Vicarage Nursing Home in Sketty, where Mr Simmonds says she is receiving exemplary care. He said: "I had a letter from David Sissling, chief executive of the LHB, apologising for the delay.

"I can't fault the Old Vicarage, I really can't. Noreen is happier now she's out of hospital, but of course she still wants to come home with me all the time. But she has to stay where she is."

emma.judd@swwmedia.co.uk