HOSPITAL bosses have pedged to address concerns about a general surgery ward at the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

The promise to make improvements on ward C14 came after bosses launched a new initiative to invite unhappy patients and family members to their meetings, to talk through their experiences.

The daughter of an elderly patient who had been treated for a lung condition attended this month’s board meeting, and detailed several shortcomings in her dad’s care.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said her dad’s dignity was ‘completely and utterly compromised’ on various occasions.

She was constantly concerned he was not getting enough fluid, food or sleep on C14, while nurses would regularly talk over him and ignore his requests, including a request for a bed pan, she said.

She added: “He was terrified and it made us feel completely and utterly helpless”

She said the care that was given to her dad in the emergency ward and critical care unit was fantastic, however.

Professor Eileen Fairhurst, chairman of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “It’s an extremely sobering story. I’m really sorry that you had that experience which none of us would want for any of our relatives or anyone that we cared for and loved.”

Ward C14 received a low score of just 52 in the latest Friends and Family Test, which asks patients about their experience in hospital. This was the third worst score out of 29 wards at the Royal Blackburn in January.

Chief nurse Christine Pearson, said: “I will take this back and ensure I feed everything back to the nurses and the wards. You shouldn’t be frightened as a family and particulary your dad as a patient.”