Liver transplant patient aged 19 left his hospital bed to go to the pub

A critically ill teenager being treated for liver failure after binge drinking left his hospital bed and went to the pub for a drink, it has been confirmed.

The father of Gareth Anderson, 19, is fighting to overturn NHS rules which mean his son has to be alcohol free for six months before a liver transplant.

But at the same time, a publican confirmed Garath went to her pub last Wednesday looking for a pint. He was still in his slippers and with the needle from a drip in his hand.



Staff in the Old Moat Inn opposite the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald refused his order, alerted hospital staff who took him back.

The teenager from Newtownards, County Down, was transferred to Kings College Hospital in London on Friday and doctors have told his father, Brian, he may have as little as two weeks to live.

Mr Anderson Snr said: "I don't know what he was thinking about, I don't think he knows. He said 'I don't know why I did it, I just walked out and walked across to the pub'." Mr Anderson said he was trying to get his son psychiatric help.