Great-grandmother ‘was neglected in hospital’ (From This Is Lancashire)

Great-grandmother ‘was neglected in hospital’

9:06am Thursday 13th September 2012 in News

THE grandmother of an Olympic hero was neglected in the Royal Bolton Hospital, her son has claimed.

Jimmy Jones says his mother Lilian Jones, aged 92, who suffers from dementia, lost nearly two stones during her five-week stay in hospital, developed a painful pressure sore, injured her wrist, was left with dirty bandages on her legs and was released with a chest infection.

The great-grandmother, whose grandson Stuart Stokes competed in the 3,000m steeplechase at the London 2012 Olympics, is currently being cared for at Ladymead Nursing Home, in Chorley New Road, where her condition is improving.

But Mr Jones, a candidate for Bolton West for the Independent party in the 2010 General Election, claimed she would have died if she had stayed on ward B2 in the Royal Bolton Hospital any longer.

The 72-year-old has complained to the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and the Care Quality Commission about the care his mother, of Sutton Road, Deane, received.

He said: “We can’t go back in time to make things better for my mum, but we can stop this from happening again to someone else.

“I would like there to be changes. I am not asking for heads to roll but somebody needs to be made accountable for this.”

Mr Jones said he wants to know how his mother’s wrist was injured, how she lost so much weight and whether she was visited by a dietician, why was she was discharged with a grade three deteriorating pressure sore, and how often her dressings were changed.

He also wants to be told why her heels, which were red and sore, were not treated, and why she was not diagnosed and treated for a chest infection, which was detected the next day in the nursing home and treated with antibiotics.

Mr Jones has also criticised how his mother’s care was documented and said her notes had recorded the splint as being on her right wrist when it was on her left..

After complaining to the Trust, Mr Jones said he was “disgusted” to receive a response which included the line: "May I also assure you that any future treatment and care received at this hospital will not be in any way affected as a result of the concerns you have raised”.

Heather Edwards, head of communications at the Trust, said: “We have received a formal complaint from Mr Jones about his mother’s care and we are currently looking into his concerns. Once that has been done we will be sending him a report.”

She said the comment about future care at the hospital was in line with Department of Health complaints regulations as some people can be anxious about complaining.

Hospital bosses have previously launched an investigation into problems with pressure sores following the case of 83-year-old Peter Henshall, who was left suffering from ulcers after nurses on an understaffed hospital ward failed to care for him properly.

At Mr Henshall’s inquest one of the nurses claimed the 20-stone pensioner, who had lost part of his leg in a road accident in 1986, was too large for two nurses to move, due to health and safety rules.

By the time Mr Henshall, who was immobile, was turned over, he had developed septic pressure ulcers which the inquest heard were so bad they were off the medical measurement scale. He died in hospital, on March 7, 2011, six weeks after being admitted.

Suzanne Lomas, who was in charge of a Royal Bolton Hospital investigation into the case, said action had been taken to prevent similar failings in documentation, assessment and care planning.