Guernsey Press

Lack of basic care in PEH is major concern of campaigner

A HEALTH campaigner has been horrified by stories of patients left to suffer in hospital.

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A HEALTH campaigner has been horrified by stories of patients left to suffer in hospital.

Diane Ward, 61, hoped her collection of complaints from concerned individuals would trigger an inquiry into the service. She said many of the issues focused around a failure of basic care.

'Things like medication – medical staff plonking drugs down in front of a patient and walking off, noting them down as having been administered when they're just left on the bedside table,' she said. 'It's dangerous, if a family member comes in they don't know whether they are pills that should have been taken – someone else could come in and give the patient another load to take.'

Hygiene was also an issue, with complainants observing empty hand wash stations, and patients being assigned to rooms still containing rubbish from a previous occupant.

Others included patients not being able to reach nurse call buttons, calls for help being ignored for more than 30 minutes, relatives convinced family members had died alone, and staff members who were unable to give details of the care patients had received, including whether or not they had eaten.

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