Accountability and Transparency in the NHS

Ann Clwyd Excerpts

Thursday 14th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Bristol North West (Charlotte Leslie) on securing this debate. It is with great regret that I continue to speak about issues of abuse and neglect in our national health service. As of now, I have personally received more than 2,000 e-mails and letters. The letters continue to come every day; I want to mention just a few. All who have sent them want their stories to be heard.

The first letter says:

“My mother died in August this year”—

that is, last year.

“I still feel so angry about her treatment. She caught a hospital-acquired infection that certainly contributed to her untimely death. The lack of care and compassion that I saw horrified me. Oh yes, the boxes were all ticked. Water jug, food, medication. And all left out of reach. A nappy put on her because they couldn’t be bothered to answer her calls for assistance to the toilet. A proud and dignified mother left to sit in her own vomit. I haven’t put my complaints in writing to the hospital, as it’s not going to change anything. But maybe writing to you will help. I need my voice to be heard.”

The second letter says:

“Our Dad died in January last year. His death was quite unexpected by us as he was an active, cheerful pensioner, who went into hospital in October 2012 to have a knee operation. Unfortunately, whilst in there, his condition deteriorated, he also acquired hospital-acquired pneumonia and died. Throughout his stay in hospital his family visited him regularly and our experiences were very similar to yours. We found it very difficult to find any staff to talk to or to help him and our Dad told us about all kinds of mistreatment, neglect and mistakes that he was having to endure. Unfortunately, although normally a strong character, he also became afraid of some of the staff, who appeared to be bullying him, but he was absolutely adamant that he did not want us to mention any of his mistreatment to anyone as he was convinced that, once we left, these staff would then treat him even more badly. So we found ourselves in an impossible position, watching our Dad deteriorate before us—he had stopped eating—and hearing shocking accounts of his ‘care’ where he refused to give us any names, and yet feeling quite powerless and unable to speak to anyone about this.

Of course, at this stage, we did not know that he was going to die and we were just counting the days till we could get him out of there, but that never happened in the end.”

I have a third case:

“My memories of my father’s treatment in hospital are still so raw. He, like so many others who have suffered under the ‘care’ of NHS staff, was a man who had shown such bravery in the war (he was a veterinary officer in the Chindits in Burma, behind the Japanese lines) and in his life after, he was a true gentleman and would do anything for others, and he would not complain. He had faced death many times and through his bravery had survived against all odds, but in the end his death was to be hastened because of hospital-acquired infections, and from care bordering on neglect. Tragically he died sad and utterly disillusioned. He simply could not believe that medical staff, including consultants, could treat him and others as they did. He had placed utmost trust in them, and most of them could not care less. He looked at me one day, with utter anguish and despair in his face, and in great pain, and said, ‘Oh Annie, I would never have treated any of my animals in this way.’”

The next letter says:

“My husband of 84 underwent extensive tests to determine the reason for his illness, which didn’t manifest itself until the pancreatic cancer which had remained undiagnosed spread to his bladder. During all this time my main concern was the lack of nursing care.

He had been shunted into a side room on his own for being ‘difficult’ and as far as I could see was simply ignored. On one visit I found him lying in his own excrement while the staff were gathered gossiping round the nurses’ station. All my requests to see a doctor were fobbed off, until one doctor mentioned casually in passing that a lump had been found on my husband’s bladder. No attempt was ever made to discuss his diagnosis with me.”

I have some shorter examples:

“I went to the nursing station on one occasion to see the entire Team bidding at the end of an eBay auction. I was kept waiting, ignored, until it was ended!”;

“first time in hospital mother had 2 broken wrists. No one would feed her when meals were delivered, despite the fact that she had 2 arms strapped up in the air! My aunt had to travel over 2 hours by bus every day just to ensure she was fed”;

“When visiting my wife… after an operation to mend her broken hip, I asked a nurse for help as she was being very, very sick. She announced ‘I am a graduate, I don’t do sick’, and left me to deal with the situation”.

As I said, I have received many letters. I have tried to acknowledge each one and respond, although obviously I cannot do so in detail. They keep coming. It is not something that pertains only in England; the same is true in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. I have received similar letters for all parts of the United Kingdom.