"Unacceptable lack of communication"

My Father was transferred to the General Critical Care unit from another hospital on a ventilator. Upon arrival we were advised we will only receive a call from a Doctor every 3 days and can call nurses for updates when required. At the previous hospital we had a daily call from a Doctor. Regardless we accepted this, respecting the pressures the nhs is currently under.

The updates from nurses were nothing more than he is “comfortable and stable”. Only on one day, during a 10 day stay did a nurse give us more information. I would like to say this nurse was extremely helpful and I wish she was available throughout my Fathers stay. Every other time there was not much information at all. We waited patiently for 4 days for a Doctor to call, again giving the Doctors some time, we had no call. We requested for a call from a Doctor daily, however we did not receive any calls whatsoever from a Doctor over those 10 days. On the 10th day my Father deteriorated, a nurse called to advise he has deteriorated and only 2 family members can visit him as the life support will be switched off in a couple of hours.

In the period of the 10 Days we did not receive one call from a Doctor to advise of our Fathers condition and all attempts to visit him were refused. The lack of communication, the amount of stress and anxiety caused to me and my family is totally unacceptable in an already extremely distressing time. Even the last call was from a nurse and not a Doctor.