Weston General Hospital 2018-09-18 Person 2 5 0

It has taken me a long time to have the strength to write this review. My Mum was admitted following a fall and fracturing her hip. She developed pneumonia, staff were uncaring. They did not pick up on clinical changes quickly enough. I had to push for a medical review, physically Mum was having rigors and appeared very unwell, but the nurse told me her last set of observations had been fine. Early signs of infection were missed. Her condition continued to deteriorate requiring non-invasive ventilation, which was poorly managed by the overstretched ward staff. Nurses and Doctors did not liaise with me or my Father. I had to seek them out, as they appeared to avoid conversations. The respiratory medical team appeared to refuse to notice that my Mum was dying. She became malnourished, not helped by staff leaving food but not giving her prescribed essential dietary enzymes (Creon) to help her digest this food which lead to acute diarrhoea, and very sore skin. When her requirement for ventilation increased and the mask needed to remain in-situ staff failed to offer adequate comfort and mouth care, the roof of her mouth was so dry and blistered. The only good news was that Mum was moved to ITU, it became obvious that she would not survive but the ITU team informed us of all changes, plans were discussed, and we were supported. Had she remained on the ward, I'm sure our experience would have been very different. The ward did not have enough experienced staff to cope with the complex needs of the patients receiving ventilation. The ward nurses and doctors did not communicate well with my Mum or the family.