A FURIOUS family is demanding a hospital inquiry after an elderly relative’s routine operation ended in an eight-week ordeal.

Managers at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham have agreed to investigate the case of 75-year-old Bettina Linney, from Chatham.

Mrs Linney, who lives in sheltered accommodation at Longdown House, was admitted on December 19 for keyhole surgery to remove gallstones. But Mrs Linney became ill with an acute stomach infection.

First, she was told by a doctor there was nothing wrong with her and sent home, before being re-admitted the same night with severe pain.

She was sent home again at 4.30am next morning and then re-admitted again after a visit by her GP.

Mrs Linney was sent home for the final time two weeks later on February 16 – with 12 boxes of pills prescribed for other patients.

"She was only supposed to be there for 48 hours," said a long- term friend Yvonne McLeish, of Frost Crescent, Chatham.

A spokesman for Medway Maritime Trust said she could not comment on the specifics of a patient’s case. However, issues of concern would be fully investigated.

* See the Medway Messenger (Friday, March 9) for the full story.