"poor understanding of dementia on the wards"

my 81 year old father was on a ward due to bleeding in his bladder cause by renal cancer.

he had clotting in his bladder and had a tube inserted to flush the bladder out.

he has dementia and can not express himself like most would.

he was in discomfort and clearly agitated.

I walked onto the ward to find no nursing staff in sight and him sat up pulling the tube out.

when I found the nurse I got attitude and was told they cant watch him all the time.

I find this very poor, I trust the hospital to care for my father whilst he is there and lack of understanding of dementia was clearly evident.

I had to complain to get medication for him.

to be fair the nurses the day before were excellent and checked on him regularly emptying his bag.

when in discomfort and agitated they gave him medication for pain and to calm him down.

I believe it should be down to the person in charge of the ward to ensure they have enough staff to deal with what they have.

no ward should be so understaffed that patient care is compromised.

And I never expect to feel like a burden just because I can see my father distressed.