"Communication ... very disappointing"

On a recent afternoon, I phoned the hospital to ascertain if an elderly patient, who had been in Short Stay most the day, was being admitted or was coming home. Was told I could not speak to the patient but best to come up and, if possible, bring an overnight bag just in case. Only to arrive 40 minutes later to discover the patient had been discharged 15 minutes earlier and no one could tell me how they were getting home?

Being elderly, the patient is not comfortable with mobile phones but does carry one.  Maybe someone could have helped them use it to have called me. Not everyone has family and I believe caring needs to be more than physical,   especially with our elderly.