A hospital applied for a court order to remove a patient who had occupied a bed "unnecessarily" for more than two years. <br /> <br />The man, who cannot be named due to patient confidentiality, had refused to leave the James Paget University Hospital in Norfolk. <br /> <br />The hospital said he had been "fit for discharge" and had been offered appropriate accommodation. <br /> <br />It said the decision to go to court was a last resort and "not taken lightly". <br /> <br />The man had been at the hospital in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, since August 2014. <br /> <br />'Using a hospital as a hotel' <br /> <br />A patient who had been in the same ward said it had been an "open secret" at the hospital that he had been there for more than two years. <br /> <br />The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she was "disgusted". <br /> <br />"It's ridiculous, it's using a hospital as a hotel," she said. <br /> <br />The hospital applied to the court for a possession order to claim back the bed occupied by the man. <br /> <br />It was granted on 1 December and the man was evicted on 10 January. <br /> <br />Anna Hills, the hospital's director of governance, said: "The gentleman repeatedly refused all offers of appropriate accommodation organised by our local authority and social care partners, despite being fit for discharge. <br /> <br />"As a last resort, the trust had to apply to the court to allow us to remove the gentleman from the hospital. <br /> <br />"The decision to go to court was not taken lightly but our priority has to be considering the needs of all our patients." <br /> <br />The hospital said the man had been placed in accommodation in the community.
