LOVED ones of an elderly man fighting for life today hit out at a care home for taking 16 hours to get him to hospital.

Greenock man Archie McCallum was rushed to Inverclyde Royal after falling seriously ill in Merino Court while it in the middle of a suspected norovirus outbreak.

The 79-year-old is now being treated for a kidney infection and is in a serious condition.

His wife made the decision to move him into the home only two months ago because he was too ill to be cared for at home any longer.

Archie has needed round the clock care since suffering from a stroke five years ago and has since been diagnosed with dementia.

Merino Court was put into lockdown just over a week ago over fears about a sickness outbreak, with visiting restricted and a notice posted on the door.

Mr McCallum's son, also Archie, 59, of Grieve Road, said:

"It took Merino Court 16 to 20 hours to get my dad to hospital.

"I am concerned about the delay.

"I just feel that if they had acted quicker he might not have suffered so much.

"We were told that he was unwell on Thursday night.

"When I saw him in the hospital I thought he was gone already. "He looked so drawn and gaunt.

"We will never know if he was able to get the right treatment, it might have saved him so much pain.

"Now we are just waiting to see if he can make any recovery. "They are flushing out his system and he is on antibiotics. But that could have been started sooner."

Mr McCallum became unwell last Thursday night.

He was monitored by staff but not taken to hospital until the following afternoon.

Archie junior added: "We know they checked on him on Thursday night but it wasn't until a nurse checked in the morning that they seemed to realise how bad it was.

"They decided he had to go hospital and they called an ambulance to transfer him.

"But he was still there all morning and at 2pm there was a panic, at least 16 hours after we believe he was taken ill.

"They had to phone for an emergency ambulance because his condition had deteriorated so badly."

The family now want to know why staff did not act sooner.

Archie added: "My dad had to have a catheter fitted a few years ago and when there is a blockage my mum would phone a doctor and they would have him in the hospital in two hours.

"It took them at least 16 hours to get him into hospital and get him the treatment he needed."

Son Archie, along with the rest of the family, decided to move their dad to a care home because his 79-year-old wife Helen, could no longer look after him on her own.

Archie added: "It was such a hard decision to move him into Merino Court - my mum wanted to keep him at home but it just wasn't possible anymore.

"It is a situation we have never faced before.

"But you have to put your trust in these people.

"We thought we were doing the right thing."

The home says the sickness and diarrhoea outbreak in the care home was not a norovirus strain and insists it acted appropriately.

A Merino Court spokesperson said: "The health, safety and wellbeing of our residents are our top priorities, and our staff work hard to deliver the best care for them.

“As soon as we were made aware of Mr McCallum’s condition, the home acted immediately and followed all relevant internal procedures, including contacting external health professionals to assess Mr McCallum.

"We can confirm there are no cases of norovirus at Merino Court.

“Staff, including the district nurse, monitored Mr McCallum throughout Thursday night and Friday and were advised by a visiting GP on Friday morning that an emergency ambulance was not necessary at the time of their assessment.

"A non-emergency ambulance was subsequently called.

"As soon as there was a change in Mr McCallum’s condition, an emergency ambulance was immediately contacted by the home, and he was transferred to the hospital.”

Mr McCallum's family plan to make an official complaint about what has happened.

His son told the Telegraph: "I don't think he will go back to Merino Court."