Grandfather Quits Ealing Hospital Due To 'Freezing' Room

Says staff refused to close window at his request


Abdul Quddus. Picture: Shahana Islam

Ealing Hospital staff allegedly moved a grandfather into a draughty side room so cold he became more ill and was forced to discharge himself.

Abdul Quddus, 79, said he developed back ache and struggled to recover from an infection after nurses at the hospital moved him to a ‘freezing cold’ room and refused to shut the windows.

Mr Quddus was admitted to Ealing Hospital’s A&E department on Saturday, 5 March with an infection and kidney problem before being transferred to a ward side room.

At around midnight, Mr Quddus said he was woken by nurses who moved him to another room. The grandfather of eight quickly noticed how cold the room was because the ceiling windows had been left open.

According to his daughter Shahana, Mr Quddus asked the nurses repeatedly throughout the night to shut the windows or help make him more comfortable but each time his plea was ignored.

She said: “[The nurses] didn’t shut the windows, they left him there. He had an infection so was already feeling cold. All night he was left in that freezing cold room with the windows open. He was distraught.”

According to Mr Quddus, it was only when a physiotherapist remarked how cold the room was the next day that nurses tried to shut the windows.

Mr Quddus claims when the physiotherapist asked the nurses why they hadn’t shut the windows, the nurses said they didn’t have a pole to reach them.

Mr Quddus was so distressed at how he was treated, he discharged himself on 7 March. He said, “I am very angry I was treated like that. It caused me so much distress. I was ignored and not treated like a human being. I was just left and exposed to an environment where I was freezing all night.”

Mr Quddus said that he had been unable to sleep because of the cold and had been left with back pain as a result.

According to Shahana, Mr Quddus is still recovering from his original infection and he would have got better sooner if he hadn’t spent a night in the cold.

A spokesperson for Ealing hospital said, “We are currently investigating this complaint and are sorry this patient says the window wasn’t closed at his request.”

March 17, 2022