A grandmother was sent home from hospital with a piece of medical equipment still in her arm.

Dorothy Gorham, 82, was admitted to Medway Maritime in the early hours one morning after suffering with stomach problems.

She was treated in A&E and then discharged later that day.

But when she got back to her home in Wainscott in the afternoon, it was found she had a cannula – a thin tube – in her arm.

Her carer felt it when she was getting Mrs Gorham comfortable in a chair and immediately called the hospital.

Mrs Gorham’s daughter Kim Tindal said: “I don’t know who the carer spoke to at the hospital but they told her she could take it out.

"The carer told them she wasn’t qualified to do that.

“I was aghast. After she got off the phone she said she wasn’t happy about doing it and I said she didn’t have to, so we left it.”

The family called 111 and were advised to call Mrs Gorham’s GP surgery but this was closed.

They had to wait for an out-of-hours nurse to come on duty, but this was several hours later.

Mrs Tindal said: “In the end we had to wait until much later and call 111 again who were able to arrange for a twilight nurse to come out to see her. That was after 10pm.”

“I can’t believe she was sent home with it in the first place. There were four nurses there with her when she was discharged.

“She came home in her hospital gown with a little bed jacket with long sleeves.

“I hate to think what might have happened if the carer hadn’t felt it through her sleeve.

"She could have gone to bed with it and pulled it out during the night.

“She is a frail 82-year-old who has only just lost her husband. She was quite uncomfortable.”

Clare Hughes, senior emergency department matron at Medway Maritime Hospital, has apologised for the incident.

She said: “This should not have happened and I apologise to Mrs Gorham and her family.

"Although there are no substantial clinical risks from leaving hospital with a cannula in place, I can understand that finding it when it should have been removed could be distressing.

"I hope that they will get in touch so that I can address their concerns personally.

“I will be reminding staff to double check that all of our patients who are being discharged are free from cannulas unless they need to have them for ongoing care.

"I will also be reminding staff to make sure any patients or carers who contact A&E about their care after returning home are fully supported and any additional care that is needed is arranged by our team.”