TOO many hospital patients are being sent home too soon, with the burden falling on their families, a survey shows.

According to the Carers National Association (CNA) hospital discharge is often poorly planned, wrongly timed and badly handed.

The situation has got worse in some areas since a similar survey was conducted in 1998.

In one case, a carer found her husband was unconscious when he was dropped off at home by an ambulance.

The ward sister told her they "could not keep him forever". He ended up back in hospital the same day and died within a week.

Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of the 2,000 carers who commented reported a bad experience.

Launching a campaign to highlight the problem, CNA chief executive Diana Whitworth said: "These findings present a serious challenge to the new Government.

"They add to a growing body of evidence which suggests carers are having to pick up the pieces as hospital discharge policies fail.

"The offensive concept of bed-blocking and the drive to cut waiting lists are clearly a factor."

Kathleen Pryor, 54, from South Shields, South Tyneside, who looks after five disabled adults, complained that her brother - who suffers from schizophrenia - was discharged without consulting his family.

"He was no better when they took him back to his flat. He should not have been allowed home," she said.

Dr John Canning, a Middlesbrough GP who sits on the national GP committee of the British Medical Association, said: "This situation does worry doctors greatly.

"The burden falls not only on families, but on family doctors and community nurses. The solution is more beds in our hospitals. It is a major problem."

The CNA wants the Government to issue statutory guidance on hospital discharge.