A dad-of-three has been left paralysed after he suffered a critical seizure and banged his head on the ground – just MINUTES after being discharged from hospital.
Chris Benton, 28, says he was left wheelchair-bound after medics sent him home despite pleading with them that he still felt unwell.
He had been rushed to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he stayed overnight after he suffered an epileptic fit at home last month.
But just moments after being told he was well enough to go home Chris collapsed and hit his head on the concrete ground just yards from the hospital entrance.
He then had to endure a month in hospital after being left paralysed from the waist down and has been told he may never walk again.
Heartbreakingly, Chris has also put his eight-year-old son into foster care because he is now unable to look after him.
Today (Mon) Chris, of Longbridge, Birmingham, slammed the hospital and revealed he is now suing the NHS for their lack of patient care standards.
He fumed: “I was disgusted that they seemed more interested in getting me out the door than anything else.
“When they discharged me I still felt unwell and I had to sit on the seats in A&E but the nurse told me I had to go home.
“That was her attitude – they just didn’t seem to care.
“If I hadn’t been told to leave then I wouldn’t have fallen and hit my head – and maybe I wouldn’t be stuck in a wheelchair.
“I would have been in a hospital bed and would have been safe.
“I feel violated for what they did to me but I don’t want sympathy I want to raise awareness of what’s happened.
“I was going to meet my dad who was going to pick me up from the front but I got to the ramp and don’t remember much about what happened but I know I hit my head.
“The next thing I remember is walking up in the resuscitation ward back in the hospital.
“I have just spent a month in hospital undergoing physiotherapy and I’m paralysed, apparently the signals from my brain aren’t getting through to my legs.
“They tell me it 50-50 whether I’ll be able to walk again.
“I’ve completely lost my faith in the NHS and I’m looking to take legal action.”
Chris has put his son Rhys into temporary foster care because he’s had to move out of his seventh floor flat and is the only one who can care for him.
Chris, who has two other children with previous partners, added: “It’s absolutely heart breaking for me because Rhys has always been by my side.
“Rhys has already been through so much especially over custody with my ex-partner.
“I don’t see him now, they only bring him round on Tuesdays and Thursday and I can’t interact with him like I used to.
“I love cooking and it was a way for me and Rhys to spend time together, just simple things – I know he’s eight but I still see him as my baby boy.
“I’d go without things myself just so they get what they need, at the moment I can’t look after him.”
Chris – who was diagnosed with epilepsy two years ago which led to him quitting his job as a security guard – suffered a fit and dialled 111 on May 2.
But after staying overnight in A&E, he was told by medics that they were sending him home despite his discharge letter stating he was “at risk of falls”.
After collapsing Chris was later moved to the Clinical Decisions Unit before spending five weeks on the neurology ward at the hospital.
He added: ““I’m in a wheelchair and have to use a commode. I’m angry at the way I was treated.
“I could have died that day and I thank God I’m still here.”
A spokeswoman for the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, said: “While we are unable to disclose details of a patient’s medical records, we would advise him to contact the hospital directly to his treatment should he have any cause for complaint.
“The safety of our patients remains our priority and informs appropriate clinical decisions on their care.”
