Woman ‘died in squalor’ at Redditch hospital
Posted: August 29, 2013
Posted in: Medical Negligence Negligent Cancer Diagnosis Wrongful & Accidental Death
After doctors at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch misdiagnosed Sandra Aston’s cancer as pneumonia, her daughter described the way in which she was treated as “worse than an animal”. The daughter of 79-year-old Mrs Aston, Tracey Holmes from Evesham, said that her mother had been left in her room “cold and desperate, with bleeding cracked lips”.
The hospital have apologised for their “unsatisfactory” standards of care, saying they are “deeply sorry”. Mrs Holmes, however, described this apology as “pathetic”. She provided examples of the hospital’s lack of care for her mother, saying: “She was having steam treatment through a mask and the bottle of water supplying it was empty … It was only when a physio came in and saw the state of her and called a doctor that she was looked after.”
Over 100 people with similarly bad experiences
Mrs Aston had chosen to go to the Alexandra Hospital during the majority of her life, trusting in their level of care, whereas sadly its where “let her down in the end”. Since the fatal death of Mrs Aston in April 2012 – less than a week after being admitted to the hospital – over 100 people have contacted Mrs Holmes with similar stories of their bad experiences at the hospital.
In December 2012, health secretary Jeremy Hunt said that he was appalled by accounts of patient neglect at the hospital. The Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust, offering meetings with the family to address their needs, wrote a letter to the family. Mrs Holmes deemed this “pathetic” and said that she would continue to complain until the level of care improved immensely.
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