A TERMINALLY ill woman, who was discharged from hospital, died alone in her home and lay undiscovered for days, a councillor has revealed.

Thurrock Labour councillor Cici Manwa, who represents Riverside and Thurrock Park, spoke out at a meeting of Thurrock Council's adult and health services overview and scrutiny committee.

Kevin Garrod, programme manager at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, attended the meeting on Thursday (31 July) to outline the trust's healthcare strategy over the next ten years. It involves more care in the community to alleviate pressure on hospitals.

After listening to the strategy, Cllr Manwa said: "Recently I had a bereavement of a family friend of mine. She lived in Tilbury and she was terminally ill with cancer.

"She was in the hospital for quite some time and she came out and she was at home alone. There wasn't really any support or aftercare from when she left the hospital and she ended up dying alone. People didn't even know she was dead until a few days later."

Cllr Manwa added: "Considering she was somebody who spent her whole life working in Grays in palliative care, helping other people, the manner in which she died was very tragic.

"We're looking at a ten-year plan, but right now it seems as though services don't seem particularly joined up. I'm specifically talking about terminally ill people. People with cancer. They're coming to the end of their life but that dignity should be expected throughout their entire lifetime. I hope that nobody else in Thurrock will have to experience what she had to go through."

Last year, Healthwatch Thurrock published a report on discharges from the three Mid and South Essex NHS Trust (MSE) hospitals at Basildon, Southend and Broomfield.

While discharges are handled by hospitals, social workers and NHS staff in communities, the report said there had been an increased number of "failed' and unsafe discharges" because it is believed some patients are being discharged too soon.

Cllr Mark Hooper, councillor responsible for health and wellbeing, confirmed the incident wasn't an isolated one.

He said: "I thank Cllr Manwa and recently councillor John Fox who raised issues around discharge from Southend Hospital to Thurrock.

"Maybe we could have a meeting to look at this because there are number of concerns round discharge from Southend back to Thurrock. This is about the fifth case I've heard in about six months."