Brigadier John Platt: Sad end at 101

This is not how a hospital should treat a war hero, or anyone.

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Hospital sends war hero, 101, home to die wearing a nappy and clutching a bag of soiled clothes


By Sara Nelson
Last updated at 10:20 AM on 31st December 2008


Brigadier John Platt pictured in 1944 after he was given the DSO by King George. He would suffer indignity many years later at the hands of Salisbury District Hospital

A dying 101-year-old war hero was sent home from hospital by taxi wearing only a nappy and a set of ill-fitting pyjamas.

Brigadier John Platt, who won the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery in battle, was left ‘degraded and humiliated’ by his treatment by

Full Story:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...aring-nappy-clutching-bag-soiled-clothes.html

 

That is absolutley f***ing outrageous.

Richie

 

Link still missing? I seem to return back to the WW2.forums page again...

 

The link worked for me and I could read the Daily mail article. It is disgraceful that people are treated like that, whether decorated or not, it's just a matter of respect and dignity.

 

Not that it matters but the date the hospital talk of is his discharge in 2006. Mail has taken 2 years to write or the dates are wrong, again not that that should matter.

I dont understand the whole story here, where his family informed a frail old guy was being sent home in a taxi? Where were they?

Notwithstanding this, the families of today do not look after their own relatives in the same way of 20 or 30 years ago. The reliance on the state system which is proved time and again not to be in a sufficient state of repair should forwarn any concerned relative that the onus is on us their nearest and dearest to make sure they are NOT treated in this way. It is happening far too often and until families take some responsibility for their own a little more than they seem to then it will continue to happen. I wouldnt rely on any but my own family to oversee the treatment of anyone in my family. A little more notice by the guys own family may have been worthwhile. But then again its a newspaper and I cant pretend to know the whole story.

As for a cure...military hospitals in this country have long gone.

They were around not so long ago. This gentleman would and should have found his way into one such hospital and would have been treated, nursed and surrounded by like minded service personel up until the end of the ninetees.

They served serving folk, their families, vets and local area cachements, and were far superior in their BASIC caring of all who passed through them.

Britian needs to re invest in at least one military hospital establishment again. To close them all down at a time when the political betters are using the forces for their own means more and more is nothing short of a scandal.

 

I agree with you Urgh. Something should be done. Don't understand the closure of all Military hospitals.

 

I have more reason than most to be thankfull to the old forces hospitals, boty as a serving injured serviceman and then later as a vet when I still had access to them.

Obviously during the cold war, although Brit forces were still relatively small compared to your own, they were still a substantial number of guys and gals.

We had to my knowledge, apart from Cyprus military hospital, One at Rheindhallen in Germany wegburg, Nocturn Hall, Ely, Fort Southwick, Halsar the last to go and only recently too.Halton and Wroughton. With remedial sites at Chessington and Headly court. Of this list, Headly court as a remedial centre is only site still in existance as a medical unit.
Chessington was given to your guys for a while as an emergency standby medical facility until the late 80's. Also units own medical establishments depending on the size of unit or base, more medical centres than hospitals like the former ones.

The forces hospitals were generally on the same size as say a small town hospital, but with access to all new and normal technology and services and access to larger civilian hospitals when needed. Indeed I had hospitalisation at Wroughton, Halton, Chessington and Headley court during my service injury time and Halton afterwards as a vet civilian for operations for the same injury.

I was also sent to St.Thomas's in London where I met General Ritchie of desert fame, in a wheelchair, a personal forces driver even then, and a care by hospital staff to himself that the poor Brigadier Platt quite obviously never received.

Forces hospitals were special. Still had matrons when the health service had long since removed them from their wards...I would have not given much hope for any germs of the current variety that regularly closes our wards in theis country being allowed to survive in a clean military hospital, as clean as any ships engine room I would guess. Military and shining clean go together...cfd and skin wasting diseases wouldn not have survived long it those wards. The forces doctors and nurses were looking after their own, and knew it. The care received was corresponding to that knowledge, and the patient being surrounded by folks of own background was likely to heal much faster in such an atmosphere.

That is not to say we dont have field hospitals, we do in Iraq, and Afghanistan. We only though have access to a wing of Solihull civilian hospital for wounded current servicemen. And that is plainly not enough no matter what politician stands up on tv shouting his mouth off about. Ex wounded guys and gals, are left to phone in and arrange own treatments and some left on lists for long times.

The ethos of the service looking after its own dissapeared for a while, its getting better apparantly. It couldnt get any worse...but it still is no where near the required standard of the armed forces needs or desire.

We quite obviously need a military hospital not a military wing of a hospital, especially now...the present actions are seeing unheard of amounts of injured and wounded returning to this country in numbers that have not been seen since ww2. They deserve better than a wing of a small town hospital which at one time was not even segregated until security issues arose with I believe patients being threatened at one stage...Dont know how true that was but it was a story doing the rounds at one time.

The service hospitals also served the local areas and civilians found access to hospital treatment without waiting lists and all I spoke to were amazed at the basic difference between care in forcs and civilian establishments as to regards BASIC nursing care.

This gentleman would never have been sent home in a taxi, and would never have had dirt pyjamas or whatever in a forces hospital of 10 years ago. And neither should any returning wounded vet of today.

I had reason

 

I just reposted the link and it seems to be working for me.

 

Disgraceful... Got nothing more to say.

 

This is just so sad for Brigadier Platt......

My Dad vowed never to live in a retirement home, and he got his wish. He couldn't stand to see old folks so ill treated. Sadly, after he passed away, I had to put my Mom into a home miles from where I live, but her sister was already there and she helped so much! And another Aunt who lived independently really helped out a lot.

I hope the hospital personnel for General Platt had the riot act read to them, and that they were embarrassed by all the bad publicity! I have to stop...my blood pressure is rising.

 

I said what I thought about this in this thread http://www.ww2f.com/military-history/28667-british-other-armies-not-getting-enough-respect-2.html

I had to change my avatar to his photo just to help his memory live on, the way he was treated was disgusting.