A dying man was refused palliative home care and has had to go into a hospice after allegations that he was aggressive towards visiting nurses.

Barry Jacobs, 59, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March last year and has been undergoing chemotherapy treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton following surgery.

However, after a handful of visits by the district nurse team to his home, care was withdrawn by Central Surrey Health in October this year after allegations of aggression by Mr Jacobs towards nurses.

One alleged incident in March last year saw Mr Jacobs accused of grabbing a nurse’s arm and refusing to let go.

Mr Jacobs is now terminally ill and was admitted to Princess Alice Hospice in Esher this week after being given just weeks to live.

His ex-wife Jenny Jacobs of Lintens Lane, Epsom, who has been caring for him in her home in recent months, said the refusal by nurses to treat him meant additional and tiring trips to the hospital.

She said it had also robbed him of the chance to die at home and she refused to accept that he had done anything to warrant such treatment.

She said: "I was absoulutely shocked to hear what the allegation was. At the time he had difficulty washing himself so the last thing he would be doing was picking a fight with anybody. I heard nothing at all and I was here the whole time.

"If they had nurses they could treat him here.

"It’s going to make him even more upset about dying."

A district nurse from Central Surrey Health said: "It would only be in exceptional circumstances that we would take such a difficult decision to not provide nursing care for someone at home, particularly for someone requiring palliative care, and it’s not a decision a team takes lightly or easily.

"We work really hard to provide care wherever possible and do everything we can to find a way to overcome difficulties we may encounter.

"Sometimes it’s not clinically appropriate for us to perform certain treatments or procedures in someone’s home, in which case we would arrange for the person to go into hospital where, for example, they’ll be in a more suitable environment.

"We have worked closely with other service providers, including GPs, who supported our decisions in this exceptional case.

"We have a duty of care to protect our staff and operate a zero tolerance policy towards threatening or abusive behaviour."