Patients Association report criticises quality of hospital care

10th November 2011, 9:38am

The Patients Association (PA) has launched a report called ‘We’ve been listening, have you been learning?’ which details 16 accounts of poor hospital care heard by its helpline in the last year.

"The report contains some shocking accounts of care received by patients in hospitals across the country, focusing on four key fundamentals of care-communication, access to pain relief, assistance with toileting and help with eating and drinking," said PA vice president Angela Rippon when she launched the report.

It includes accounts that show patients continue to be failed in key areas. Cases in the report include:

* Jessie Thayer, whose daughters despaired at the failure of nurses to attend to her basic hygiene needs while she was a patient at Frimley Park Hospital.
* Helena Grimwood, who while being treated at Southend Hospital was often left 'desperately thirsty' according to her daughter, who also said nurses neglected her toileting needs.
* Brian Smith, whose wife alleges that she had to run out into the corridor screaming for help as her husband lay dying in his bed, because nobody answered the call buzzer.
* Barry Woodward, who had to wait seven hours for an ambulance and was then not given any pain relief on arrival at hospital.

"This report raises serious issues about the quality of care that patients are receiving on our hospital wards.

"It's not enough for hospitals to say that they have recognised care hasn't been good enough in the past and promise improvements for the future," added Rippon.

PA chief executive Katherine Murphy said: "The accounts of care contained in this report shame everyone involved. It's simply not good enough for this report to be recognised and then business to carry on as usual.

"There needs to be a culture shift in the way we treat patients on our wards."

Related Articles:

• 13 Oct 2011 - CQC urges better nutritional care for older people in hospital
• 12 Oct 2011 - Nine million hospital meals go uneaten, finds survey

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