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"disgusting way to treat an old lady"

About: South Tyneside District Hospital

I would like to share with people the disgusting way this hospital treats the elderly. After spending 4 weeks on ward 2 it was decided that nothing more could be done for my 89 year old mother, she had been admitted because she had been vomiting blood.My mother suffered from Altzeimers Disease and had been losing weight because she was finding it difficult to swallow. Prior to going into hospital my mother had been put on Forticip protein Drinks and with prompting from the staff at Harmony House she started putting a little bit of weight back on .In the 4 weeks she spent in hospital she lost 12 pounds in weight and weighed just over 5 stone, which i put down to lack of any encouragement for her to eat or drink On the 19th January 2015 it was decided that she should be discharged, and an ambulance was booked for three o clock, then after I voiced my concerns about her being discharged while she was in such poor health, this was put back to 4 o clock. It was 8-40 that night before an ambulance crew arrived on the ward.I was at the home waiting for my mothers arrival which was not until 9.30,the ambulance crew explained they had other patients to drop off before getting to my mam. i was appalled to see she didnt even have a blanket over to keep out the cold [she only had a nightdress and dressing gown on.] She was absolutely freezing , her legs and hands had turned blue because she was so cold, .the staff and I had to massage her limbs and wrap her in warm blankets. My mam was left shivering and traumatized by this whole incident. How anybody can disturb an 89 year old dying lady who would have been asleep at that time of night and allow her to be driven around on a freezing cold night without a blanket over her is beyond belief.My mother died 7 days after this incident, my mother was treated like a piece of rubbish that had to be disposed of, not with the dignity and respect she deserved .

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Responses

Response from South Tyneside District Hospital 9 years ago
South Tyneside District Hospital
Submitted on 09/04/2015 at 13:37
Published on nhs.uk on 11/04/2015 at 01:01


Thank you for taking the time to post on the NHS Choices website your mother's recent experience of our services. I note the content of your text and can confirm this incident was the subject of a formal complaint which was fully investigated and responded to. I did offer the complainant my most sincere apologies and explained the lessons learned and the respective actions we will be taking to esnure this does not happen again. I apologise once again for the manner in which your mother was discharged from our care. Kind regards Lorraine B Lambert Chief Executive

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