"Serious complaint regarding organisation of..."

Before I go any further I wish to express my sincere appreciation of the professional care, kindness and consideration of ALL the staff on Ward 6B.

They are a credit to the hospital. Before proceeding with this complaint you need to know my experience in this field as a retired NHS ambulance crew member.

From July 2000 to January 2007 I worked as a PTS(Patient Transport Service) driver/crew with the psycho-geriatric service out of Peterborough Hospital for 5 years and a further 2 years at Hinchingbrooke Hospital. We dealt with LD teenagers upto alzheimer's and dementia patients.

violent Patients were common place for all crews.

On arrival in ward 6B I was appalled to see how the patients were not segregated.

Patients with severe symptoms of dementia mixed in with the non violent on the four bedded wards.

I was placed in an isolation single bedded room because I was diagnosed with an infection viral blood disorder. I was awoken in the early hours of the first night by the sounds of the nursing staff struggling to subdue a very violent. angry patient who had managed to get out into the passageway. He also tried to into get into my room and I had to get out of bed and assist the nurses in stopping this.

this sort of behaviour went on almost every night.

This same patient would shout outfor long periods repeatedly calling for a nurse and generally disrupting the whole. My point is that the mixing of such patients is a danger to all staff, other patients and members of public in the ward.

I just cannot believe that the hospital can allow this to happen.