"Absolutely nothing! I felt that ..."

What I liked

Absolutely nothing! I felt that my father was treated in the most disrespectful way by the nursing staff. This, in turn, made him difficult and withdrawn, something he had never been in his life.

What could be improved

The attitude of the staff toward their patients. My father, who had emphysema, was admitted as he was having difficulty reducing his steroids. During his admission he had a heart attack and he lost his mobility. He had also had radiotherapy for terminal bowel cancer and this left him slightly incontinent He asked for a bed pan and he was told by a nurse to "do it in the bed." He had no option but to do this. She then told him "you are a filthy, disgusting, old man."

Anything else?

I made an official complaint about the female equivalent of this ward in 2005. I dealt with the ward manager and I was promised that things would improve. I have no idea if these improvement were ever implemented but this particular ward was disgusting and I consider that my father was verbally abused. I reported this to the ward manager but as my father was back at home when this came to light, I didn't follow it up. My father was admitted again to the acute admissions unit a few months later, where he was treated with nothing but kindness and respect. He was then moved on to another care of the elderly ward and the staff were marvellous. He died in their care on 26th September 2007.