A WIDOW says a decision to transfer her husband from one hospital to another and back hastened his death.

Emphysema patient Robert Taylor, 80, from Greenhead, died after he was transferred from Huddersfield Royal Infirmary to Calderdale Royal Hospital at 3am on February 20.

He had been admitted to the Infirmary with a chest infection on February 18 but was transferred because a bed in a suitable ward was not available.

But Mr Taylor, who had suffered emphysema for 10 years, was ferried back to Huddersfield on February 21 where he died two days later after contracting pneumonia.

Now widow Lesley Taylor, 72, is trying to raise awareness of the situation by writing to Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and health secretary Alan Johnson.

Mrs Taylor says she has no faith with the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust – the body responsible for the two hospitals.

The Trust admitted her husband, who was in a greatly weakened state, should have not been transferred to Calderdale during the small hours.

In a letter to Mrs Taylor, trust chief executive Diane Whittingham said: “While we believe it is appropriate to transfer patient in these circumstances, the director of nursing and myself do not agree it is acceptable to do this in the early hours of the morning.

“Even if a transfer is necessary it should not have happened until the following morning.”

Mrs Taylor said: “No medical training is required to realise that an elderly person with damaged lungs, a chest infection and deprived of sleep could easily contract pneumonia which is what happened.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous. No one at whatever age should be shifted like that a that time in the morning.

“He was in four different beds in the last six days of his life.

“He was a vulnerable patient and they have admitted he shouldn’t have been moved.

“It’s difficult to say if he would have survived but it possibly hastened his death.

“I haven’t much faith in the service. I just hope I don’t have to go into hospital.

“I don’t want compensation. I just want to make people aware so it doesn’t want this happen again.”

A spokeswoman for the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust said: “We were sorry to hear of Mrs Taylor’s concerns and we have met with her to discuss them.

“We investigated the care and treatment of Mr Taylor and have learnt from what happened and have put new measures in place.”