THE distraught family of a terminally ill throat cancer patient say he will spend his final days alone after a decision to move him to a care home in the suburbs of Birmingham.

Seventy-seven-year-old Alwyn Holmes is currently in the Beech head and neck ward at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester where his devoted family say the care has been nothing short of fantastic.

But now, having been told there is nothing more doctors can do and been given just two months to live, health commissioners have decided to move him to a care home in the Birmingham suburb of Kings Heath.

But that has come as a hammer blow to his wife Jackie and brother Norman, who have been loyally at Mr Holmes’ bedside every day and say the move will make it very difficult for them to get to see him.

Neither of them drive and have to rely on buses or family members, all based in and around Worcester for their visits.

They have pleaded with hospital managers to move Mr Holmes, of Dunley, near Stourport, to a hospice or nursing home closer to Worcester but say their requests have fallen on deaf ears.

His brother Norman, aged 68, of Linden Road, Tolladine, Worcester, said he has visited Otterburn care home since finding out Mr Holmes is being sent there and that it took him three buses and almost three hours to get there.

“I think the way he has been treated is absolutely disgusting,” he said. “It is very difficult for the family. I appreciate that they want the bed but surely when somebody only has a couple of months to live they could have found somewhere around here for him.

“He only has a few weeks left and his wife and family want to be with him, not further away. He will be on his own for his final days.

“I don’t like to run hospitals down but to me it is just appalling.”

But a spokesman for Worcestershire Acute Trust said the decision on where to move Mr Holmes was one beyond its control.

“Alwyn Holmes has been medically fit for transfer from an acute hospital bed to a more suitable environment since August but has continued to be cared for in Worcestershire Royal Hospital while Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) colleagues organise a suitable place for him to receive the continuing care that he needs.”

Jo Galloway, executive nurse for Wyre Forest CCG, said she could not comment on individual cases because of patient confidentiality. But she added: “It is our responsibility to ensure that the care packages we commission meet the assessed needs of the individuals concerned.

“We do our best to support reasonable choice and care as close to home as possible.”