"Try not to go there if you are old!"

My mother has been into RCH twice since the 1st January 2015. The second time for a fractured femur. She is 88. The first time she was in RCH was for 1 week after having stents put in and was in so much pain that she had to be admitted as an emergency. She was then transferred to West Cornwall Hospital for a week. Whilst at RCH they managed to lose her bottom set of false teeth! As of nearly 6 weeks later, I am still trying to sort out her false teeth and it would seem that the goal posts keep moving! She is losing weight and is unable to eat properly. This second time everyone in A&E were brilliant but once she went onto the ward it fell over from there. She has a history of ulcerated colitis and when she needs the toilet she needs it now. She was left for over ½ hour before someone came and of course it was all too late. She got very distressed and upset by this. I believe that this happened more than once. While the nurses tried to be everything to all men as it were, they ended up being nothing to no-one. She was moved to a bed in the ward and then after a week was moved to a community hospital where she still is. But in moving her, they didn't put all of her belongings with her so subsequently, a bag containing her clothes etc had to be chased up and sent to her. I am over 200 miles away and they do not inform me of what is happening to my mum, but ring her neighbour who is not her next of kin and whilst she has been very good to my mum, my brother and I need to be kept informed as we are the ones who will ultimately make any decisions of her welfare. I have visited my mum at RCH and have given the nursing staff my details time and time again and last time gave them a copy of the Power of Attorney forms so that if anything happened then they had the details. I only hope that she doesn't have to go to RCH again this year!