BRADFORD Royal Infirmary (BRI) has apologised to an 80-year-old man after he complained about being transferred from one ward to another in the middle of the night without any prior warning. 

Richard Taylor, 80, who was admitted to BRI with a broken foot, said the move "showed a complete lack of respect". 

A spokesperson for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - which runs BRI - said the hospital was "currently seeing extremely high levels of attendance at A&E" and explained that Mr Taylor needed to be transferred to make space for another patient from A&E.

Mr Taylor, who lives in the Bradford area, told the Telegraph & Argus: "On Monday night, I went to bed in one ward and was dozing off. 

"At around 1.30am on Tuesday, a number of men, including myself, were moved from one ward to another. 

"Some people were woken up. 

"I protested about what was happening at the time - I wasn't happy at all. 

"Some people were asleep and woke up in a completely different ward which must have been very confusing for them. 

"They hadn't told us in advance that this was going to happen. 

"They wouldn't tell me why we were being moved in the middle of the night. 

"This showed a complete lack of respect not just for the patients involved but also the other staff on the ward. 

"Why were we moved in the middle of the night? 

"Why didn't they tell us in advance that this was going to happen? 

"What a mess." 

The T&A put Mr Taylor's concerns and questions to Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

In response, a trust spokesperson said: "We would like to apologise to Mr Taylor once again for the distress caused by moving him during the night.

"We are currently seeing extremely high levels of attendance at A&E, and many cases of flu, with a significant number of patients needing to be admitted for medical treatment.  

"As a result, Mr Taylor needed to transfer areas during the night to make space for another patient from A&E."

On Friday, BTHFT issued a statement on its website that said: "As part of Bradford Teaching Hospitals’ plans to protect patients from high levels of flu currently circulating, and to reduce overcrowding, we are restricting visitors for patients in A&E.

"With immediate effect, people attending A&E will be restricted to one visitor except those attending with children or relatives of patients who are critically unwell."

The trust's website also states: "Please be aware that the emergency department is for patients who have an emergency which cannot be dealt with via a GP appointment or by calling the NHS Helpline on 111. 

"Due to high demand, please only attend if you have a genuine emergency."