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"My father died at good hope"

About: Good Hope Hospital / Elderly medicine Heart Of England NHS Foundation Trust

(as a relative),

My father was admitted to Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Colfield, part of the Heart Of England Foundation Trust, in November 2008. He spent 8.5hrs on a hospital trolley in A&E after been brought in via and ambulance with a severe Urinary Tract Infection. He finally got moved to the Medical Assessment Unit where he was commenced on Antibiotic Therapy and a saline drip to keep him hydrated. Within four day af admission he came down with a sacral pressure sore and a further three days later developed a grade 4 necrotic pressure sore to his right heel. Good Hope Hospital have, in response to a complaint, confirmed that they failed in general pressure area care and have confirmed that my father did infact have ALL pressure areas in tact upon admission. They have also acknowledged that they failed to initiate correct pressure relieving equipment.

During his stay he was moved from ward to ward and ended up on the rehabilitation ward where he recieved no more than 10 minutes per day of re-hab, and none whatsoever on a weekend. He was constantly left in a wet bed after not been toileted and contracting recurrent Urinary Tract Infections. Had bi-lateral bruising to both lower arms where canuals were constantly removed and re-sited. It seemed that staff on the unit were not aware of how to operated intra venous technology, and claimed to be having an off day.

Also we were told that they were "Short Staffed". My father, whilst admitted, contracted MRSA and Cdiff, and consequently died after an 18 week stay for something that was so simple. Whilst trying to make a complaint to the hospital, I am now been told that they have lost some of my fathers notes. In my opinion, if the hospital is unable to keep notes in a folder then they have no chance of keeping patients alive.

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Responses

Response from Heart Of England NHS Foundation Trust 13 years ago
Submitted on 11/06/2010 at 15:59
Published on Care Opinion at 01:00


We are very sorry that the experience your father had at Good Hope Hospital did not meet the highest of standards. We fully appreciate the difficult time you and your family have been through. The issues you raise have been the subject of an internal investigation and we would like to reassure you, and others, that the Trust has taken a number of major changes since the death of your father.

The Hospital has received significant investment in upgrading A&E and building a new ward. We are currently building a new ward block at the Hospital as well as refurbishing existing facilities. We have reviewed and improved our staffing mix and levels and have put in place new nursing matrix which measures the quality of care in every area on a daily basis. Our rates of infection have continued to fall and are below the targets we are set. We are currently investing in new systems and are working towards making all records electronic which in future will prevent notes from being mislaid.

We believe that you have met with the Trust on a number of occasions to be a part of the investigatory process and we are grateful for your involvement in this.

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Update posted by ireneslittleboy (a relative)

May I just bring to your attention that neither myself nor my family have ever met with anyone from the hospital since my father's death in March 2009.

Response from 13 years ago
We have made a change
Submitted on 08/09/2010 at 11:13
Published on Care Opinion at 01:00


We are very sorry that in our original comment we said that you had met with the Trust on several occasions when in fact you have only just met with members of staff. We apologise for this error which was the result of an administrative misunderstanding. Thanks to your feedback, we have now put in place a new process which includes an initial check as currently happens and then a double check on all information with the relevant clinical teams before it is posted on any site.

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