Queen's Hospital 2021-06-10 Person 1 5 0

My uncle was on Harvest B ward at Queens hospital in Romford. The initial care he received after suffering a stroke was very good. However, when he was moved to Harvest B ward there was a complete change in his care. The lack of care and empathy shown by the nursing staff is appalling. Due to the stroke he was unable to feed himself and needed help. He has told us how food would be left infront of him, many times out of reach, and then would be collected later without anyone feeding him. He would be left many hours in soiled clothes and bed linen. He also received minimal oral care and was left in one position for many hours at a time. It has been devastating to hear him tell us what he has been put through at the hands of the people we trusted to take care of him. I think the no visitors/ one visitor for an hour rule has been used by nursing staff at this ward to avoid doing their job and looking after patients as they should. They have used this rule put in place as a social distancing rule during covid to hide the true extent of neglect from families of patients on the ward. We as a family feel extremely guilty for trusting the nursing staff on this ward with our uncles care and not suspecting or questioning the care he was receiving. It is only now that he is out of there and able to communicate enough to be able to tell us how he was treated. Staff on this ward need to awaken their conscience and question whether they are in the right job. Don’t work in healthcare if you lack the care and empathy that these patients need to get back to health.

-Nursing staff should do the job that they are there to do! - Show some care and empathy. These patients may not be able to communicate or be mobile now but only several days before they were completely mobile and independent. - If you can’t take care of patients then allow family members to visit more often so they can at least be fed and not miss meals.