"People were friendly and helpful ..."

What I liked

People were friendly and helpful with my frail Aunt, who had collapsed at home in Kendal and gone to A and E,the nurses were kind and helpful,it was very busy and they were doing their best.

What could be improved

When I followed my Aunt down in my car, after taking her dog to a neighbour, I went to the RLI but could not find her,no-one at A and E had any record of where she was. After over 30 mins of anxiety she was found in the Medical Assessment ward. She is 82,nearly blind, but mentally alert.

Anything else?

My Aunt was in hospital for a 5 days, she had come in dehydrated and hadn't eaten properly,in spite of carers coming to her house, but had cancelled them when I was away, leading to her collapse. I found a care home to take her when she left hospital,about 400 yards up the road from RLI. She was discharged from RLI at 8pm to go there after 5 nights on Ward 4, and became quite demented.The home was told she had no medical probs,needed TLC for a while. They called a Doctor to her next day,who diagnosed an acute UTI, which he thought may have been what had caused her original collapse. The ambulance men had suggested that may have been her problem! I cannot find you complaints department, but I was upset that my poor Aunt could have been in a hospital for 5 days, and medical staff, however busy, could have overlooked a fairly common illness.