Boy stuck on acute NHS ward for a year because he has no home to go to

Disabled 10-year-old cannot leave until Manchester council settles his homeless family

A 10-year-old boy has been living on an acute NHS medical ward for nearly a year despite being well enough to be discharged because the local council has failed to find appropriate accommodation for his homeless family, the Guardian has learned.

The boy, Ahmed, has developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy and scoliosis, is fed through a tube and is registered blind. He was admitted to the Royal Manchester children’s hospital on 1 March last year with breathing difficulties. Within six weeks, he had recovered enough to be discharged, but his doctors refused to let him leave as the family were homeless and “sofa surfing” in a friend’s living room.

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