"The hospital was clean. Occupational ..."

What I liked

The hospital was clean. Occupational therapy received rave reviews from my elderly mother as the staff appeared to have an interest and aptitude for the work.

What could be improved

My mother was taken to A and E following a fall and remained as an in patient for 3 weeks. Not suprisingly there were several elderly women on her ward but the staff appeared to have no skill or aptitude in working with this age group. My mother was left on a commode on more than one occasion for up to 4 hours. She was shouted at by a member of staff for not being able to hoist herself onto the commode and she informed me that she decided to avoid drinking liquids as she felt that she was 'punished' each time she needed to empty her bladder. My mother has no vision/hearing problems and yet was treated as if she had. She was never informed about her treatment or why certain procedures were being undertaken. Throughout the day patients were left to just sit in the chairs at the side of their beds. Given that there were several elderly women in the same situation (ie detained in hospital 'undergoing tests' and waiting to be given permission to go home) could not the staff at least position their chairs so that they could interact with each other. I appreciate that the era of the day room is over but I am convinced that the patients would be more compliant if they were not bored and stressed through lack of information/stimulation. My mother was frustrated as she appered tobeleive that there was not 'handover' procedure and she has to tell the 'story' to each new shift. The staff did not appear to know what had gone on during any other shift which seems very inefficient and does not inspire confidence in the organisation. My mother has worked all her life,is an intelligent woman. is not a malingerer and treats everybody she meets with respect and politeness. I have never known her to be so demoralised as she was during this period in hospital and I am convinced that there is scope here for some basic training in patient care.

Anything else?

All my mother's visitors noticed the detiorioration in her mood - as her physical health was improving her mental health was deteriorating. Her immediate family wanted to complain direct to the hospital. She was terrified however that if she had she would be targeted for deliberate poor treatment if she was unfortunate enough to have to attend again. We are also well aware that this is a problem in many hospitals but my father's treatment in another hospital in this area was far better.