Disabled man 'rotting' on a hospital ward - despite being fit to go home

A man with Duchenne muscular dystrophy was admitted to hospital in September 2025 for a routine ventilator settings appointment and expected to return home after three days. He says he was told he was medically fit to go home, but his local NHS integrated care board ended the budget that paid for 24-hour home support. He requires two healthcare assistants around the clock, and he says the delay has left him stuck in a ward for months. He previously had a personal health budget that was terminated. He claims the care board wants a cheaper or more restrictive model and is pressuring him to move to a care home rather than his family home. The NHS South East London ICB denies that cost drove decisions, while other disabled people report similar hospital “stranding” during disputes over funded care.

"Ravi Mehta, who has a life-limiting disability, was admitted to hospital in September 2025 for a routine appointment to fix his ventilator settings. He was supposed to go home three days later - but months on he is still stuck in a hospital ward. The 36-year-old, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, says he was told "from the beginning" that he is medically fit to go home. However, the budget he received from his local NHS integrated care board (ICB) to pay for the staff he needs to support him at home has now ended."

"Mehta, who needs two healthcare assistants 24 hours a day, says every unnecessary day on the ward feels like precious time "fading away". He previously had a personal health budget (PHB) - NHS funding designed to give people more flexibility to create the support they need to live their life. But it was terminated by the ICB, which is responsible for planning and funding local health services. Mehta believes his care board wants him to accept a model of care that is cheaper or more restrictive than the one he says he actually needs."

"He told the BBC he is now being "pressured" by the NHS to go into a care home, instead of back to his family home, where he had a job, went to football matches and saw his friends. Mehta says the support he would receive in a care home would make his life much more restricted. "I feel like they see me as the person that needs too much care and support - more than they want to give.""

"NHS South East London ICB said they "strongly refute any suggestion that decisions in this case have been driven by cost." The BBC has heard from other disabled people who say they too are being left "stranded" in hospital as disputes over their NHS-funded care outside of hospital go on for months."

Read at www.bbc.com