'They won't pay for my care' - young woman has been stuck in Banbury's hospital for over two months

28-year-old Robyn Herbert, from Woodford Halse, has a cyst on the spine and needs specialist neurological rehabilitation. She is immobile and has been left in a Horton bed for more than two months, losing her capability, while funders try to find onward care for her.

Ms Herbert, a financial services assistant who is now unable to work, said the Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board (NHS) will not pay for rehab available in Northampton and an appropriate hospital in London has a 18 to 36-month waiting list.

“I’ve been in this geriatric ward, seeing elderly people die and being taken out all this time, and it is affecting my mental health,” she said.

“All I am being given is physio for a maximum of ten minutes. No one seems to have any idea what to do with me and I am taking up an acute bed in Laburnum Ward. I’m getting muscle wastage and I'm not getting the right physio because they're concentrating on people preparing for discharge.

“Because of the pressure of being stuck here I have also developed alopecia. There was talk of me going to a private hospital, St Andrews in Northampton. I waited a month to find out that funding has been denied. They are not keeping me in the loop about any of mycare.

“There is a London neurological unit at Bethlem Hospital where they deal with my condition but there is a 18-36 month waiting list.”

Ms Herbert has nowhere to go because she needs wheelchair-accessible accommodation.

“My family’s homes are not suitable, neither are any Northamptonshire community hospitals as they don’t do neuro rehab. There’s talk about housing me in Northamptonshire and having outpatient appointments but nothing has transpired,” she said.

“In the past I have had three spinal surgeries and I was walking for five years, working in optics for three years and then financial services – then it all came crashing down about two and a half months ago. I’ve been told I have ‘functional neurological disorder’ – they’re not really sure what it is. I am completely wheelchair bound.

“Now I’m unable to work at all and I want and deserve the opportunity to return to normality.”

The NHS was divided into 42 autonomous health areas in 2022. Each has a limited budget. Ms Herbert is currently in the care of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care Board (ICB) area. However her home ICB – which must fund her care – is Northamptonshire.

Paula Gardner, Interim Chief Nursing Officer at Oxford University Hospitals Trust which runs the Horton, said: “We understand Ms Herbert’s frustration with the current situation and appreciate how distressing this can be, and understand the upset and disappointment she is feeling.

“We are doing everything that we can to work with our healthcare partners to address these complex issues, and are committed to continuing to work with and advocate for Ms Herbert to help her to receive the care that she needs.”

The Banbury Guardian has asked the Northamptonshire ICB for information about Ms Herbert’s case but has not yet received a reply.