The family of a disabled boy who has been unnecessarily kept in hospital for a year has been evicted from temporary charitable accommodation.
The family were asked to leave the Ronald McDonald House, charitable housing opposite Royal Manchester children’s hospital, the purpose of which is to help families stay close to their children while they are in hospital.
Ahmed, who is ten, and has developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy and scoliosis, is fed through a tube and is registered blind.
After a six week stay in hospital in Spring last year, he had recovered enough to be discharged, but his doctors refused to let him leave because the family were designated homeless.
Manchester City Council found accommodation for the family after reports in The Guardian, but the house is uninhabitable, and works have been halted on it due to the current Coronavirus crisis.
Ahmed's mother has told The Guardian that the family was asked to leave over fears Ahmed may have Coronavirus and may have passed it to them. The hospital tested the boy and the results came back negative. The Council has since had to reaccommodate them in a hotel.
MP Lucy Powell said: "Myself and Manchester city council – at the highest level – are extremely disappointed with the actions of Ronald McDonald House. We are pretty disgusted. This is not how anyone should be treated.
"The family have hotel accommodation now and [the council] is expediting the adaptions to the house and are working on them with universal credit issues too."
Ahmed’s mother begged the charity to let the family return to Ronald McDonald House so she could be near her son. She said restrictions on public transport made it difficult to reach the hospital from the hotel.
Fazilet Hadi, DR UK head of policy said "The story of Ahmed and his family underlines the failure of health and social care services, to provide necessary support to disabled people. Ahmed was kept in hospital far longer than he should have been, and now the family is living in unsuitable hotel accommodation. We applaud Manchester City Council for now taking urgent action but Ahmed should have been living at home with his family many months ago."