"Lack of communication with relatives"

A close relative of ours was recently a patient on ward 22. We felt that nursing staff did not want to involve us in our relative's care, even though we could have been a great help to them. When we asked to speak to a nurse, we felt a nuisance. On some occasions we were promised that a nurse would come and speak to us but they did not. The ward was not very busy over the weekend. We never saw a doctor on the ward in 2 days. The weekend represented a hiatus in the care of our relative. There should be more doctors in evidence at the weekend. It is frightening to think of an acute ward with such an apparent lack of medical input from Friday evening until Monday morning. In addition, it is our experience that staff on this ward do not answer the telephone.