16.01.13
A tragedy of errors
Source: Julia Hobbs
My father, a renal patient, died on Friday evening (28 December). He’d been doing well in hospital, though mistakes with his diet and a lack of attention to basic bodily functions caused him to acquire infections around the time he was nearing discharge. His consultant decided to stop dialysis because his body was shutting down. Left on the renal dependency unit, he could see patients around him receiving dialysis, while he was ignored. All his fluids, nutrition and medications were withdrawn. It was a living hell for him and a living nightmare for us. After a few days, one caring nurse on a ward of callous and/or indifferent nurses, took pity on my father and allowed us to give him sips of tea on a toothbrush. He ate a full pureed meal the day after – nil by mouth was not an appropriate sign.
We raised concerns with the Health Board while he was a patient. We’ve had no real response – just excuses and some horrific actions by the lead investigator and head of redress (!) – and now they claim they don’t have a consent form. I kid you not.
Re: NHS at crisis point