"My Father was in Basildon Hospital ..."

What could be improved

My Father was in Basildon Hospital and no one seem to listen when we told them he did not feel well after an operation. He was in Hospital for nine days after the operation and was in pain and started to be sick. We spoke to doctors and nurses about him. A doctor came to see us one afternoon and my father told him he had been sick and was still in pain. He advised us this was normal so we agreed to release him. A few days later he was submitted in with kidney failure, Septicemia and was very ill. Another thing no one told us he had septicemia. Many more things happened to my Father and we felt the treatment fell below basic care. The night before he died I had to open the door to his room as only two nurses were on the ward and they were both in his room. As I went into the room I was shock to see marks on my fathers back. I phoned my sister-in- law who came in as soon as she could to have a look (she works in a private nursing home). She examined my father and also noted he had marks on his feet. I have also found out they put a "not to resuscitate" order in his file. No one advised our family of this and my family are very upset with what has happened. I reported many things to the right people in the hospital but some of these have not been recorded in the notes. What is the use of these people if they do not protect the patients. I was horrified to see patients treated with very little respect. I know this will not be put on the website but it is all true and I feel that people should know this when making their decision.

Anything else?

If a family complains about care of a family member this should be recorded and passed on to someone not related to that ward. I feel that we were not taken seriously.

Tell staff to smile more and treat elderly with respect. Say sorry when things go wrong.