'Culture change' needed to end poor care of elderly

12 April 2012

Elderly patients are being let down by appalling standards of care in some hospital wards, a report reveals today. Shocking accounts are detailed in the document which has brought calls for a "culture shift" in the way people are treated.

In the report compiled by the Patients Association, Gaynor Marshall told how her father George Taylor, 83, was treated by nurses at Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield when he was admitted in August with a chest infection.

She said: "On one occasion dad was in a chair by his bed and needed the toilet. He asked a nurse to assist him, but was told she was too busy, and that it would be easier for her if dad relieved his bowels in the chair. She promised to clean it up later.

"As you can imagine, my mother was horrified when she then turned up in hospital to discover dad sat beside his bed, quite literally sitting in his own faeces. Initially, mum felt that dad must have been confused and must have misheard the instruction by the nurse. However the nurse confirmed to her that he had heard her correctly, and that she was too busy to assist him.

"What makes matters worse is that the nurse didn't come and clean dad up as promised. Instead my mother had to clean him up It is an outrage that she had to do that."

The family of Immacolata Lacovara, 74, who died at Central Middlesex Hospital, told how staff treated her roughly and left her covered in bedsores and bruises, and made comments about her weight. Her son Matt told how on the night she died, a "do not resuscitate" notice had been placed in her file. He said: "None of the family knew anything about this."

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "Many parts of the NHS provide really good care, but some sadly fall short of what we demand. That's why we asked the Care Quality Commission to carry out unannounced inspections on issues including patient dignity and nutrition."

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