"Lack of general care"

I am writing as a visitor, visiting my grandmother who broke her hip and was at the Ulster Hospital, Northern Ireland for 3 weeks. 

In terms of the staff, the physio team were great and had my grandmother up and about everyday with good techniques on exercises and a realistic approach to recovery.

In terms of general care on a day to day basis, every night when visiting, my granny had no water in her jug. Considering she had low blood pressure on numerous occasions, the staff were not helping with the lack of fluid intake. She also suffers from coeliac disease and there was no gluten alternatives on the ward. Even when gluten free products were sourced, such as bread, the bread was toasted in the same toaster as 'normal' bread, causing my granny to be ill from the cross contamination. Either the staff were careless or there needs to be more training and food options for those with coeliac disease. Moreover, when my granny was questioned about her allergies she replied she has coeliac disease, the staff member responded that it says on her notes that she is allergic to gluten, again I feel there is a clear lack of training on a disease which is very common in this day and age.

Furthermore, there were numerous times my grandmother was not washed or changed appropriately or to the full ability a human should be washed, especially someone who is vulnerable and is relying on the help of others. This was quite disheartening and such a major component to my grandmother's upset on the ward.

From visiting multiple grandparents in multiple hospitals, I am aware of the pressure hospital staff are under in Northern Ireland, however, the basic levels of care were not being met by some members of staff in the Ulster and I hope thy improve in the near future!