An elderly man had to wait an extra three weeks bed-blocking in hospital while social services put a care plan in place.

Brian Arneil, 77, from Sutton, suffered a stroke nine weeks ago which left him paralysed on his left side.

He was taken to St George’s Hospital, in Tooting, and then transferred to St Helier where he remained for three weeks after he was supposed to be discharged.

Speaking last week his son, a retired scaffolder Vincent Arneil, 52, said: "We have been waiting three weeks for social services to put a care plan in place.

"We keep getting fobbed off by social services who need to put a care plan in place. They say he needs what is known as a double up plan because he needs two carers.

"They say they haven’t got the means to do it at the moment. Every day I’m calling and I’m at the hospital every day.You never get to speak to the same person - it’s just buck-passing."

"He’s really frustrated - he just wants to get home. It has just been going from pillar to post and in between that he’s stuck in there frustrated. I’m sure they must need his bed.

"Two weeks ago we had a big rush - I blitzed his house so he could come home. We were under pressure as we were given a day for him to come home. But two weeks later he is still sitting up there. It has been a total shambles."

Mr Arneil was finally sent home on January 24 and a spokesperson for Sutton Council said: "Putting a care package in place took longer than we would normally aim to achieve, resulting in Mr Arneil being discharged from hospital on January 24.

"Although it would have been our wish to see Mr Arneil return home as quickly as possible, we had to ensure that the necessary arrangements were in place to ensure his safety and effective support for his recovery."

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