A 10-year-old boy has been living on an acute NHS medical ward for nearly a year despite being well enough to be discharged because the local council has failed to find appropriate accommodation for his homeless family, the Guardian has learned.
The boy, Ahmed, has developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy and scoliosis, is fed through a tube and is registered blind. He was admitted to the Royal Manchester children’s hospital on 1 March last year with breathing difficulties. Within six weeks, he had recovered enough to be discharged, but his doctors refused to let him leave as the family were homeless and “sofa surfing” in a friend’s living room.
The situation is “totally unacceptable” and “an appalling waste of public money” according to one member of Ahmed’s medical team.
The cost of an “excess bed stay” in the NHS is £346 per day, meaning Ahmed’s unnecessary 11-month hospitalisation has cost taxpayers at least £115,000.
There are three-bedroom homes in Rusholme, near the hospital, currently on the private rental market for £850 per month (£10,200 a year).
Manchester city council (MCC) has been unable to find Ahmed a suitable home for 11 months. There are roughly 15,000 households on MCC’s housing register, a third of whom are categorised into the highest three priority bands that denote “urgent housing need”.
His parents and sisters have been living in a one-bedroom flat at Ronald McDonald House, short-stay accommodation for families of young patients in the Manchester hospital. The Guardian has agreed not to name them to protect their identities.
Ahmed, along with his mother and youngest sister, arrived in the UK from Sudan in September 2018 on a medical visa after a benefactor arranged for him to have treatment at Great Ormond Street children’s hospital in London.
On landing at Heathrow, his mother, a pharmacist, claimed asylum on various grounds, including political persecution.
She claims that the family was allocated unsuitable accommodation in Croydon, south London, while they waited for their asylum claim to be processed. She, Ahmed and his little sister shared a “mouldy” room on the third floor of a hostel where the lift and heating were broken, she alleges. They had to use a shared bathroom on the second floor, meaning she had to carry Ahmed – who uses a wheelchair – up and down the stairs.
The mother said she took the decision to move to Manchester and stay in the living room of a friend instead. Shortly after arriving last year, Ahmed became ill and was admitted to the hospital.
His medical team deemed him medically fit in April last year and said he was ready to go home, providing a suitable care package was in place to look after him.
On 12 April, one of his doctors first contacted the council to highlight the urgent need for the family to be housed. But, 11 months later, the family is still stuck.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of Ahmed’s medical team said: “It is totally unacceptable that Ahmed has been forced to live on an acute medical ward, because of a lack of suitable accommodation.
“This is not only having a detrimental effect on his own physical and psychological health, despite the best efforts of everyone at RMCH looking after him, but is also causing untold stress to his parents and his siblings. It is also an appalling waste of public money when it would be far cheaper and more humane to find Ahmed and his family appropriate housing.”
They said they knew of lots of other children with similar levels of need living at home once their houses had been modified. Ahmed needs a hoist to get him in and out of bed and the shower and needs space for his medical equipment.
An MCC spokesperson said: “We have a huge amount of sympathy for Ahmed and his family. A young person having to be admitted to hospital is never easy, and we appreciate the pressure the entire family must be under during this time.
“We are aware of the family’s application to Manchester’s housing register. Each case we handle is assessed on the needs of the applicant, with the aim to provide the most appropriate accommodation based on that.
“This is a highly complex case, which has to factor in Ahmed’s ongoing medical needs, his education and the wellbeing of his family and caregivers. Unfortunately in this case, the council has not been able to secure accommodation that would be suitable for the family’s needs.
“A very specific type of property is required by the family in one of the most in-demand areas of Manchester for housing. During this period, nothing has become vacant that would be appropriate. We will continue to work with the family to try to find a property that will meet their priority needs.”
The Manchester University Hospitals Trust, which operates the children’s hospital, declined to comment.
