A HOSPITAL patient who was forced to swap beds five times in 12 days is to complain to health trust chiefs.

Bob Tomlinson, 64, said he was made to feel "like a lump of flesh" when he was transferred from ward to ward during his stay at the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

Mr Tomlinson was admitted when he visited the hospital's A&E department with a swollen knee.

He said: "I was shunted from ward to ward and I was absolutely fed up.

"The standard of care was diabolical. It was hell."

Married Mr Tomlinson was first placed in Ward 15 - male orthopaedics - where he stayed for the first three days.

On day four he was moved to Ward Six - medicine and elderly ward - after being told his bed was needed.

He said: "I was put in geriatrics in a ward with two beds but the patient I was with was on his way out.

"They were flying around working on him and I couldn't sleep so I went and sat in the day room until 3am."

The man was eventually moved out and Mr Tomlinson remained in the ward until he was transferred to a four-bed room five days later.

Hours after his move, Mr Tomlinson, of Barnsley Road, Cumberworth, was then returned to Ward 15 on day 11 before completing his stay in Ward 16, a mixed orthopaedics ward.

He said: "I don't know what is going on in that hospital but patients are suffering.

"What I saw was disgusting, I never thought it was that bad.

"I really feel for the patients. I felt like a lump of flesh."

A spokesman for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust said: "We are extremely concerned to hear of the issues raised and would invite Mr Tomlinson to contact us as soon as possible so that we can investigate further.

"We have a formal complaints procedure in place, which allows us to look into the points raised more thoroughly.

"Obviously we cannot comment on the issues raised by Mr Tomlinson through the pages of the newspaper for reasons of patient confidentiality."

Mr Tomlinson, who is also a member of the South Huddersfield Patient and Public Involvement Forum, now plans to make an official complaint to the Trust.