A Perthshire woman claims action needs to be taken at a Perth hospital ward after listing a “catalogue of disasters” when her husband was being treated for a stroke.
Mrs Claire Douglas, of Atholl Park, Dunkeld, contacted The Courier after reading about Bill and Brenda Rennie, of Luncarty, who say that Mrs Rennie’s mother, Margaret Ferrie, may not have died but for her treatment at Perth Royal Infirmary (PRI). Mrs Douglas finds it “hard to believe” that there has apparently been no improvement in ward six at PRI.
“In June 2008 I called an ambulance for my husband, Donald, who I was told had had a stroke on his right side and was paralysed,” she said.
“He initially went into ward four and then was moved to ward six. He was given no assessment regarding his safety and after three days I had to see the senior nurse in charge of the wards as he had not been given the eye drops for his glaucoma.”
Mrs Douglas claims there were no records of her husband falling out of bed and that he was not bathed or cleaned for 10 days.
She said: “Apparently a special bed that can be lowered to the floor should have been requested, but nothing had been done about it. I was so upset because my husband was scared it would happen to him again.
My husband is 78 this year, but the fall that he suffered in ward six from a considerable height to the floor may have contributed to his continually deteriorating condition.
“When my husband was in ward six, there was a man who had a Zimmer frame who needed to go the toilet but he was ignored by nurses,” she went on.
“In addition, when my husband was given a low-level bed it was manky so bad that I had to clean it with wet wipes.”
An NHS Tayside spokesperson said: “Mrs Douglas lodged a formal complaint in 2008.
“Senior nursing staff met with her and all her concerns were thoroughly investigated at this time. The outcome of this investigation was shared with Mrs Douglas as part of the complaints process.”