"Nothing"

What I liked

Nothing

What could be improved

Liaison between staff and relatives/patient

Listening to relatives concerns

Improvement in the lack of staff over Christmas and Easter Holidays

The fact that my mother was left for two days before a doctor could insert a canula

Help with feeding patients before their food gets cold

Help to get people to the toilet before they wet themselves

Correct diagnosis

Getting people out of bed to walk around before having to wait for occupational therapy to arrive by which time the patient has lost the will to walkl. (i.e. during holiday periods, you cannot get hold of anyone in OT for over a week!

Anything else?

My mother entered the hospital A&E and was fairly fit. She was recommended to stay overnight for observation and then admitted pending waiting for a Consultant to examine her.It was not diagnosed that she had a urine infection for several days by which time she had deteriorated greatly. Things went from bad to worse with no staff over the christmas period, culminating in a member of staff letting her fall flat on her face, causing two black eyes. This caused a setback and she was left in bed for two weeks, losing the use of her walking ability. I was then told there was a waiting list for St. Geroges which extended into months, all the time she deteriorated and no one listened to my constant pleas for help. The whole episode was a horror story which ended in my mother passing away on Easter Sunday whilst waiting three days for a feeding tube to be inserted and becoming dehydrated (despite my constant insistence that something be done). There was only one junior doctor between 3 wards. On the day she died, I was told as I entered the ward "sorry but your mum died 10 minutes ago". The long awaited canula had never been set up. I would have been with her, but no one knew that she had deteriorated until it was too late, because no one bothered to check her, as there was a lack of staff over Easter. Even now, I cannot bear to go into the hospital. The people who gave me her death certificate were rude and dismissive with bad attitudes. I hope I never have the misfortune to be a patient at Queens as I truly believe that the care on offer is appalling, inadequate and dangerous. I am a professional working within the NHS so I knew the right channels and I did complain twice at the time, but received just standard replies.