"Dissatisfaction with my Mother's care in Cedar..."

Anything else?

My 85-year-old Mother was admitted to Cedar Ward from A&E after a fall in the care home where she lives. She was taken to A&E by ambulance. I was phoned by the home on the evening of 12 October 2013 to say she had been taken to hospital. I made several phone calls to the hospital on the evening of the 12th to try to find out Mum's condition and what had happened to her. There was a lot of confusion as to where she was that evening after I was informed she had been transferred to another unit (not a ward), but when I spoke to the unit on the number I was given they had no trace of receiving her. I eventually tracked her down to Cedar Ward where I visited her on Sunday 13 October. Mum was eventually discharged from Cedar Ward on Thursday 14 November. I was informed by the care home when she returned there that she had lost more than 8 kilos in weight during her stay in Whipps Cross. Whenever I visited, which was 3 times a week, always in the afternoon or evening, I got the impression that the ward was inadequately staffed. The nurses and care assistants did not appear to have the time to ensure that my mother was eating properly and her condition seemed to actually deteriorate while she was in Cedar Ward. At one point, although she was meant to be restricted to 500ml of liquid intake per day because of sodium deficiency, the water jug was left full by the kitchen assistants and nobody seemed to be checking how much liquid she was actually consuming. Mum had another fall in the ward a couple of days after arriving in Cedar Ward after she had fallen over whilst walking down the ward. I was told she had tripped over her catheter tube. On my mother's discharge from Cedar Ward her spectacles went missing, somewhere between the ward, where I am told she was wearing them and her arrival at the care home. Despite efforts on my part to locate these, they have not been found. I remain bitterly disappointed with the whole Whipps Cross experience.