"Basic needs need to be taken care of"

My father is in his 70s, he was admitted to A&E with breathlessness and pneumonia. This was his first hospital admission except for a planned hip replacement 2 years ago. He is normally fit and healthy.  

Initially he was seen very quick and placed on oxygen, he was also given nebulisers and received a trolley within a few hours of admission.

He spent 49 hours in A&E and had very little basic care within this time, there was no one to make tea and toast or provide water, he was on IV fluids initially but no pump available and his arm tissued twice. 

I had to ask for a pillow and a blanket for the second night as he hadn't received these and couldn't really sleep. I was advised to bring in food if needed anything to eat outside the meal times but the shop within the hospital has closed and the cafe was closed when I went to purchase a sandwich at 7.20pm. He was somehow missed off breakfast so had nothing from the Monday at 5pm until lunchtime on the Tuesday. The nebuliser pump that he was on was broken and was stuck together with Elastoplast and tied with a disposable tourniquet. 

When I asked for a jug of water I was advised to provide bottled water as no jugs are allowed due to infection control, there was no one to really give me an update on his action plan but when I did speak to the nurse who was looking after him they read out from notes that he had been seen by respiratory and was on 3 antibiotics and was going for a CT scan, my father advised no doctors had seen him and the nurse then asked him name and said sorry I am reading the wrong patients notes.

When I asked how long is the wait usually for a ward bed, I was told - how long is a piece of string? 

He was transferred to a ward bed on the Wednesday morning, 49 hours after admission to A&E, he was considerably improved at this stage and was feeling much better.

His care on Ward 26 was exceptional and he was discharged home on the Friday. He also received follow up from community respiratory staff and re attended hospital 1 week later for spirometry at the outpatients clinic.

I appreciate that our health service is considerably stretched at present and that was very evident in A&E but not really at all within the ward.

Basic needs need to be taken care of, such as hydration and nutrition, my Dad advised staff did regularly check him for redness on his skin which was great but if he is weak, dehydrated and tired this will all contribute to a slower recovery.