A HOMELESS Bunbury man could not believe it when he was “kicked out” of the Bunbury Regional Hospital with nowhere to go during a severe thunderstorm this month.
Shane King told the Bunbury Mail he had spent most of the day at the hospital on Sunday, August 17 trying to get his blood glucose level under control due to diabetes.
Bunbury residents were warned to prepare for a severe storm which delivered wind gusts close to 100 kilometres per hour, uprooting trees and ripping roofs from houses.
Mr King said his GP told him there would not be a problem with the hospital providing him with a bed for the night as he had recently separated from his partner and did not have a fixed address.
But he was discharged and asked to leave the hospital at 10.30pm on Sunday night, when the worst of the storm hit.
“I had to walk from the hospital through Carey Park, which was the worst-affected suburb – it was like walking through a washing machine, I was battling to stay standing,” Mr King said.
“I was carrying my laptop in a backpack and it’s completely stuffed now.
“Not only was I using it to try to get a job, but it had all my personal photos saved on it, they are all gone now.”
Mr King eventually camped in a friend’s shed for the night until the storm had passed.
Bunbury Hospital operations manager Andrea Hickert said she could not comment on the circumstances of individual cases “due to the need to respect patient confidentiality”.
“The health and wellbeing of all people who attend Bunbury Hospital is of paramount importance,” she said.
“A decision to discharge a patient is made by the treating doctor and is based on their clinical needs.”
