A GRANDFATHER who is battling a chest infection was left shivering in a hospital ward with no heating.

Joe Waudby was rushed to Watford General Hospital on Saturday night but was forced to recover in freezing temperatures with nothing but a “flimsy” blanket over his shoulders.

The 88-year-old, who lives in Clare Lodge Care Home in St Albans, was moved from the A&E department to the old Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) on Sunday.

His wife, Pamela, desperately tried to get her husband moved to a different, warmer ward, but had no luck.

“I am so distressed for him,” she said. “He’s only in a nightie and has a couple of blankets.

“It’s so cold in there, at one point I even assumed they had the air conditioner on because it was so chilly.

“But yet outside, it’s so beautiful. When I left the hospital it was so sunny and I began to thaw.

“I spoke to the nurses and asked them what was going on but nobody could give me a straight answer. I am angry and frustrated over it.

“That was during the day. I knew it would get colder at night. I am worried it could slow down his recovery.”

Mr Waudby, a retired print rep, is currently on antibiotics but doctors do not know how long they will keep him in hospital for.

His wife made various calls to departments to get the problem sorted or get him moved somewhere warmer, but claims it was like “talking to a brick wall.”

The hospital has since confirmed the heating issues in the CUD have been fixed.

She says that while she understands the pressures of the NHS, there is “no excuse” for freezing temperatures in hospital wards.

She added: “I am finding it really hard to think of him, at the age of 88, in a bed with a couple of cotton, flimsy blankets and a nightie.

“I do understand the NHS has problems and I am not someone who would shout and scream at every little thing. I just don’t think this is right.”

Chief nurse Tracey Carter said: “We are very sorry that our patients have experienced cooler temperatures in the old CDU than we would wish.

"We can confirm that the issue has now been resolved and the temperature is starting to warm up. We have explained to patients what is happening.”