A 38-year-old hospital patient was sent home with plastic tubes still attached to both his arms.

And now the family from Accrington want to know why he was discharged so early without proper care taken.

The East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust apologised and urged anyone who ‘feels they have experienced care which falls below expectations’ to get in touch directly.

Diabetes patient Zaheer Khan was admitted to Royal Blackburn Hospital on Monday April 26 after an ambulance was called at 10.40pm. A day later he was wheeled to the front of the hospital to be picked up by the family.

When the family got him home they realised that he still had a cannula, a small flexible plastic tube, inserted into his veins in both arms.

His sister, Ghazala said: “It is just shocking that they would just let him go home like this.”

She said the family had called ambulance after Zaheer’s blood sugar levels were really high and his ketone levels were raised.

“He was feeling tired and being sick so we rang the ambulance.

“The next day I rang and I specifically asked them if he had been discharged.

“They said they had and they had simply wheeled him to the front of the hospital and left him there for pick-up.

“When he got home he wanted to rest and later took off his jacket and my other brother noticed he still has both cannulas in both his arms.

“It was quite shocking that this could happen.”

Another ambulance later arrived and to take them out but the family say Zaheer was quite upset by the experience. Ghazala said: “It has made my family very upset that my brother hasn’t had the care he should’ve had when discharged from hospital.

“This also makes us raise questions, did he get the care he needed while in hospital?

“No family member was able to visit or be present. It is very upsetting.”

Chris Pearson, chief nurse at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We are very sorry to hear about this family’s experience. As we are committed to maintaining patient confidentiality it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases in the press.

“We would, urge anybody who feels they have experienced care which falls below expectations and, indeed, our own high standards to get in touch directly so we can work together to resolve any issues; to allow us to continuously improve and ensure lessons are learned where needed.”