Mr Bowman went missing for a third and final time in June this year

An Alzheimer's patient who went missing from a "dementia friendly" ward drowned in a river near the hospital, his son has said.

Nick Bowman has accused Panteg County Hospital staff of not appropriately caring for his father Ronald, from Langstone in Newport, who died earlier this year.

He said that his family had been assured by healthcare professionals that his 74-year-old father was being well looked after, but after escaping the ward, which is especially designed for patients with dementia, Mr Bowman drowned in a river near to the hospital. The family believe that Mr Bowman was trying to cross the river so he could get home to his wife.

Mr Bowman was admitted to the Royal Gwent Hospital suffering with meningitis. He was later transferred to the Hafen Deg ward at Panteg County Hospital in Pontypool, South Wales. His family were told that he would be checked on by ward staff every 15 minutes. But Mr Bowman managed to escape from the ward twice, being found once in the hospital car park and in the reception.

"My family and I believe that in his confused state, he was trying to get back to my mother," his son said in a new Patients Association report. "He had been increasing agitated over the past few weeks and the state he was in when my mother left after visiting hours was getting increasingly worse. This was understandably distressing for my mother, but the constant reassurance from medical staff that she should not worry as he was being well looked after, calmed my mother down."

But despite the assurances, Mr Bowman went missing for a third and final time in June this year. Police found his shoes at the bank of a river near to the hospital. Three weeks later Mr Bowman's body was found four miles downstream from the hospital.

Aneurin Bevan Health Board, which is responsible for the hospital, wrote in the report: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Bowman following this tragic incident in July. When an inpatient leaves a ward unexpectedly an internal investigation will always take place and this case has therefore been the subject of a Serious Incident Investigation within the Health Board.

"We have maintained contact with Mr Bowman's family and have shared our investigation findings with them in a recent meeting. As this case is the subject of a formal complaint it would however not be appropriate to comment further at this time."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt added: "The vast majority of patients get excellent care on the NHS but we will not tolerate occasions when the NHS fails its patients. That's why we are taking action to root out poor care in hospitals and care homes and make sure the quality of care is valued as highly as quality of treatment.

"These cases are shocking and tragic. That's why next year we will introduce new ways of measuring and publishing the experiences that patients have in hospital. By shining a light on those organisations which have problems, we will be able to drive up standards so that everyone gets the quality of care they should expect."