Search for family of man dumped at hospital

A hunt was under way today in Spain for the family of an elderly man dumped at hospital with a note to nurses.

It is understood he had been living with his wife and daughter in Spain for the last four years, but last month the family decided they could no longer cope.

His daughter, from the Romford area, is believed to have flown him back to Britain and then left him at the hospital with a letter from her mother and his birth certificate.

The note had details of his condition and a message from his wife saying the strain of his care had put her on tranquillisers and led her to the verge of a nervous breakdown.

A social services spokesman said: "We desperately want this man's family to contact us. Although this incident seems incredibly heartless it would appear his family were at the end of their tether."

The man, who is in good physical health, was taken into emergency care by social services after he was found by nurses sitting alone in accident and emergency on 25 October.

Despite the fact he was able to give his address in Spain, his family have yet to be traced.

The spokesman for Havering social services added: "We know the family have roots in this area. It seems they flew to Britain specifically to leave him in the hospital and then went straight back to Spain.

"We know their names and have their address in Spain, but have tried ringing them and no one answers. We are working with the British consulate and other agencies to track them down, but don't know where they are at the moment. We'll care for the man as long as he's here.

"We're asking them to get in touch. We want to help them as they must have been in a desperate situation."

Under EU law the man would have been entitled to full and free treatment in Spain. But a Havering council spokesman said: "It is clear that they were struggling to offer appropriate care abroad."