"Lack of dignity & respect at Northern General"

My 89 yr old mother was recently admitted by emergency ambulance to Sheffield Northern General Hospital with heart problems. She was admitted to Firth Medical Assessment Unit which is a mixed sex ward.

She was forced to endure men staring at her and had to share a bathroom & toilet with men. One day a nurse left her sat on the toilet with the door open. A man entered the toilet and was able to see her sat half naked on the toilet which upset her a great deal.

She complained to a nurse who said she must have been imagining it! My mother has an excellent mind and comprehensive memory and doesn't 'imagine things'.

My mother and the rest of our family have been greatly upset by her experience and fear that, one day, we might have to endure the same experience. NHS staff need to realise that we pay their wages and all patients deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. So much for Essence of Care!