"Still concerned about care on ward B3 (QMC) "

Last week I published my rather horrific story about my mother.

Things started to improve when she was moved to a diabetic ward and she tells me her care was very good here (C54).

Now it is a week later and she has again been admitted into hospital. Back to the horror of ward B3.

On arrival things were looking much better than the week before. The nurses were friendly, her vitals were taken straight away, and she was seen quite quickly by a fantastic doctor who was kind, thorough and sensitive. This particular doctor went out of his way to care for my mum.

There were some downsides. There were no beds for her so she was left for a while in an uncomfy trolley type thing without a pillow or blanket. It was far too high for her as she couldnt swing her legs round to sit up (which she needed to do to be sick). Again no water was brought to her whilst we were there (from 8pm till half 10) but a drip was fitted very quickly and her diabetes discussed.

She did get a bed that night thankfully and was moved to her own room which is great.

My concerns at the moment are that her diabetes is not being properly looked after. She kept repeating to doctors and nurses that she was worried she may suddenly go very low. She's very weak and tired so is finding it difficult to keep an eye on her blood sugars. Whilst a relative was with her last night she dropped very low and had not had her blood sugar checked by anyone for the duration of the time me and other relatives had been there.

This is not ideal as being that she is very tired she may fall to sleep with low blood sugar. In my opinion, she really should have moved off this assessment ward and onto a diabetic ward but unfortunately the hospital is short on beds.

I've seen full sick bowls left for hours on end. Food left on her table making her feel more ill. One nurse in particular came in with an attitude that made me feel he really didn't care, he was chewing gum with his mouth wide open and didnt seem to have much diabetic knowledge.

Ill diabetics should be checked upon frequently and responsibility for the patients well being should not be left in the hands of the relatives. We can only be there till visiting hours end and the lack of checking makes us very uncomfortable to leave her.

Will feel much happier when I know her diabetes is being kept well in check. On this ward I do not feel she is particularly safe.