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"Appalling care of eldery and vulnerable"

About: West Middlesex University Hospital

I attended West Mid A&E with my 82 year old mother on Weds 14th sept 2016, we were bought in by an ambulance crew. Initially we were treated very well by the paramedics, Dr and nurse in the PAU. After various blood and urine tests, we were told that my mother needed to have a CT scan of the head to ensure there was no bleeding and also that she would need to have antibiotics as her urine results showed she may have a urinary infection. This in itself was very alarming, after returning from the scan, my mother was moved to the a&e observation ward waiting area and told that as soon as the results were back a Dr would come and talk to her and depending on the results, she would either be admitted to hospital or allowed to go home. We arrived at a&e at 9.15pm, at 1.15am we were moved to the observation ward, at 3am we were still waiting. Despite ensuring she spoke to the 2 other patients present at that time, the nurse on duty pointedly ignored my mother, not once asking any questions. On again asking how much longer we would have to wait, they finally went to check at approximately 3.30am, it was approx. 4am when we finally got to leave. There was another patient who will testify to the rudeness of the nurse that night. The nurse returned to tell us the Dr we had seen had gone home, on asking for more information, they informed us that the Dr had handed over to another doctor, who had said they were too busy to come and speak to my mother, that they had looked at the scan and to send us home. I queried the urine infection and asked if my mother needed antibiotics - the nurse then said she was fine and for us to go. On asking for their name and the Dr's name, the nurse then finally bothered to look at my mother's file notes to explain further. They appeared too scared to go and ask the doctor anything. If we had not prompted them, god only knows how we would have been sitting there for absolutely no reason. The nurse hurt my mother when removing the cannulas (of which 2 had been inserted) and she is now severely bruised. My mother is also on warfarin, so this could have been very dangerous. I am thoroughly shocked and appalled at this insensitive, uncaring level of service in a hospital. Unfortunately, I am not surprised due to previous bad experiences with staff at West Midd. I also object to the way some patients seemed to receive preferential treatment and afforded more dignity and respect. We are formally requesting copies of all blood and urine test results, as well as a copy of the CT scan carried out on my mother without delay, so that we may take them to a proper care centre and get help. Please note that you may not with hold any information pertaining to my mother, her medical records and the care she received on 14th sept 2016 under the data protection act 1988. I expect a response within 1 week.

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Responses

Response from West Middlesex University Hospital 7 years ago
West Middlesex University Hospital
Submitted on 19/09/2016 at 13:45
Published on nhs.uk on 20/09/2016 at 02:31


Thank you for informing us about your mother's poor experience at the West Middlesex Hospital, for which we are extremely sorry to hear.

So that we can offer you and your mother further support and to investigate further please could you contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service on: 020 8321 6261 or email: Pals.Service@wmuh.nhs.uk

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