An elderly grandmother was left trapped in a hospital toilet for 12 hours while staff believed she had been discharged.

Janina Borasinski, of The Ridgeway in Waddon, was admitted to Croydon University Hospital after she struggled to get out of bed on Saturday morning (May 6).

Her son Chris flew from Germany to be by his mother’s side, but when he arrived at reception a staff member told him that she had been recently discharged.

Mr Borasinski, 62, who lives in Hamburg, said: “When they told me she had been discharged I was shocked because I should have been told, bearing in mind that she is 84.

“I phoned home to see if she was there, but there was no answer. I thought she might be waiting to be taken home or was in transit, but when I got there I couldn’t find her.”

Mr Borasinski then called the police and his mother was reported as missing at 2am on Sunday, May 7.

After agonising for several hours a hospital official called him and said his mother had been trapped in a toilet for 12 hours.

He said: “I was ready to punch someone, but I knew that wasn’t going to help anyone. She must have gone to the toilet before they were going to discharge her.

“She must have been unable to get herself out and could not press the alarm bell or open the door. It wasn’t until a cleaner got a security guard to get inside that they found her.

“It is something that should shouldn’t happen and by raising awareness it might stop other families going through the same experience.”

Mrs Borasinski is now recovering in hospital and is expected to be discharged later this week.

She has lived in Croydon for 50 years after fleeing her home in Eastern Poland as Soviet troops pressed the Nazis back into Germany during the Second World War.

Officials at the hospital have since launched an investigation.

A spokeswoman for Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said: “We are very sorry for the distress Mrs Borasinski experienced over the weekend and we have apologised to her and her family.

“An investigation is taking place to determine exactly what happened. We are speaking with the family and our findings will be shared with them first.”