Wife distressed by poor standard of hospital care her husband received

What happened

An outbreak of norovirus meant that Mr P spent seven days on an assessment ward. His wife felt that the layout of the ward meant that her husband could not build relationships with staff and so he was not given help with his fear of hospitals. She became concerned when she realised her husband was not eating hospital food and she found dirty wound dressings, kitchen utensils and laundry near his bed. She also thought he wasn't being given his usual medication. When the decision was taken to transfer Mr P to another ward, the transfer took place in the early hours of the morning and his wife was not told. It only became apparent that Mr P was suffering from bedsores when he was transferred again. Mr P's family found what they considered to be a lack of care distressing at an already difficult time.

What we found

There were failings in care and monitoring around Mr P's transfer, nutrition and pressure sores and these were made worse by poor record keeping. However, Mr P was appropriately placed on the ward, regularly spoken to and properly given his medication. The Trust had already recognised failings in cleanliness and dressing disposal and had taken proper action about that.

Putting it right

The Trust wrote to Mrs P to apologise for failings and the upset it caused and explain what action it had taken to make sure this doesn't happen again. The Trust also paid Mrs P £750.