Family 'disgusted' over care for man at King's Lynn hospital
An elderly man who has been in hospital since New Year’s Eve says he feels like he is only there “to die”, his daughter has claimed.
Penny Clare says she is “disgusted” with the care given to her 82-year-old father, Maxie Alden, since he was admitted to Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital on New Year’s Eve.
However, the hospital says a treatment programme has been agreed.
Mr Alden, who has been in and out of the QEH since December for a bronchial complaint and a recent fall, called his daughter from the ward to explain how he was ‘shivering’ under four blankets because the hospital heating wasn’t working.
She said he had reported seeing nurses “wandering around with blankets on” throughout the hospital.
She added: “I complained about the heating situation, it’s not healthy for Covid patients or geriatrics. The nurses assured me they had passed it on to PALS, but when I contacted them after three days PALS says no such complaint had been recorded.
“I felt furious, I was assured by the nurses that it would be sorted out and it took days for anyone to even report it.
“I then went back to the nurses and they all supposedly thought each other had reported it. According to my father, staff members were wandering around with blankets too.”
The heating issue was one of a number of concerns raised about Mr Alden’s care, including allegations that some staff had questioned his mental capacity.
Penny said: “I’m disgusted. He is of sound mind and lives alone and takes care of himself.
“He told me he hadn’t been seen by any doctors and asked for a commode, the commode took two days to arrive and came with no toilet paper.
“He ended up messing himself, which devastated him, it’s un-dignifying, the focus is on Covid and nothing else.
“I phoned the nurse on duty and refused to get off the phone until he at least had toilet paper, only then was he provided with some.”
The heating problem was eventually resolved, but Penny claims she and her sister are unsure of their father’s care plan moving forward despite numerous attempts to find out.
She also said her father had told her: “I’m just in here to die it feels like. I wish I could go home because if I fell down again at least I know someone would find me.”
Penny said: “I have pushed for x-rays and he now needs a bronchoscopy which they say they will do when he is an outpatient.
“Why is he being ferried back and forth like cargo when they can just do the procedure in house? It’s a Covid risk for him to keep re-entering.
“I feel I’ve been palmed off and ignored by staff, they now won’t talk to me, I just want to do the best for my father, his mobility has decreased since his admission and he may need adjustments in his home.
“For instance he may now need a walker, a physio plan and a raised toilet seat to help him go about hid daily life, when he was independent before and didn’t need these facilities.
“I was told by a junior doctor that there would be a multi-disciplinary meeting regarding this and his bronchoscopy appointment, but it doesn’t appear to have happened and my father has no clue what’s going on, he’s so confused.”
QEH Lead Nurse Claire Kent said: “I have personally spoken to Ms.Clare to discuss and address the concerns and we have agreed a way forward and next steps which satisfy both the patient and their family.”
