Ipswich Hospital - terrible bullying of elderly patient witnessed

Edit, Apr 13th 2008: my friend who witnessed this awful bullying reported it to the hospital once she was readmitted to another ward. The nurses on her new ward took her complaint very seriously and talked her through the procedure for launching a formal complaint. She has done so. The first step is for Ipswich Hospital to launch an 'internal investigation' and report their findings back to her. It has been over a month and she has not heard more than an acknowledgment of her complaint. I will ask her for a further update soon but it seems the hospital is in no hurry to check or change its procedures.

Original post follows:

This is an absolutely true story that my friend just posted:

Honestly, I have never witnessed anything so f*cking awful

I have got some sort of infection going from my throat, all down my neck, my glands are huge, my ear is agony. I was put on antibiotics yesterday but today I have literally not eaten and bearly drank a thing as swallowing is too painful. My face is so fat it is mad!! I am in agony, feel like my face is going to explode

Anyway, went back to my doc today who sent me up to an ENT ward this evening to be assessed as he is not very sure what is going on

I got in there and was greeted with a very unfriendly attitude and shown to my bed. I was sitting there waiting when this very frail old lady in the bed opposite started shouting for help. Absolutely no reaction from the student nurse or staff nurse in the room. She called again. Still no reaction. (they were not busy, they were chatting to each other). The old lady called again, crying. Then this little b*tch of a student nurse rolled her eyes at this poor lady and put her finger to her mouth and told her to shhh. I was like this: shock.This little old lady looked so uncomfortable, she had a thin sheet only just maintaining her dignity and was looking like she'd fall out of bed. She called again and the student nurse this time practically shouted at her to shhh. She then started talking to another patient, very loudly saying "I bet you didn't get a wink of sleep last night with that stupid woman": shock.The patient seemed to be lapping it up saying she didn't and it was awful blah blah. The SN was saying "she doesn't stop calling and shouting all day, she is doing everyones head in". I sat there is disbelief. This little old lady started calling for help again, she was clearly shivering and in alot of distress and the SN said to her "Look, you are fine. I'm not coming to you again" and walked out of the ward". Another SN came in and the lady called for help again and this stupid nurse said in a cruel voice "Daisy, you are alright". This old lady clearly was not. She started calling again and again saying she was so cold

She had just had an operation (not sure where) but her pillows looked like they were about to break her neck and there was a big thick blanket covering an arm. She called for help when the SN came in again and the old lady said "Please, just help me move this heavy blanket, it is hurting me". The SN pulled it off her roughly and went very close to her face and shouted "Will you be quiet", then she roughly gave her a pair of slippers and said "Just play with these".  She walked off, rolling her eyes again

Pathetic or not, I was almost in tears at this point.  I was sat up on my bed watching it, obviously horrified.

The student nurse walked out of the ward and the little old lady was crying. She was clearly very confused and very fragile. I actually was in tears and rightly or wrongly I went over to her and asked her what she wanted me to do to help. She didn't know who I was, but smiled at me, so relieved to see a kind face. I got her sat up in bed  and arranged her pillows, covered her up. In the corner of my eye I saw the SN come in and walk straight out, and with that a bitch staff nurse walked in and demanded to know what I was doing. I was in tears and said "I have worked in this hospital and I have never ever in my life here, or in my care work before, seen a patient treated so badly." I said "This lady is in obvious distress and she has been shouted at, roughly handled, teased, patronised and totally and utterly ignored by at least 3 members of staff when she is desperately crying for help." The staff nurse started raising her voice at me telling me I have no right to help another patient and I said that I am afraid I do when I have sat there for 20 minutes and witnessed all of this. She looked at the clock and said "You have only been here for 15 minutes." I can't rmemeber what else she said but she was giving me the most filthy looks, patronising me and basically not taking any account of what I saw. She then said "That lady is very confused, she has gone on and on all day". She said it like it was an excuse to treat the lady in that way. I said "That does not make what I have seen excusable. I have worked with elderly people many many times as a carer, and I would never treat someone like that, confused, demanding, hard work or not".
Then the staff nurse said "if you let me speak I will bleep the doctor to come and see you and i will come back with the student to do your BP and temp". She said "If you want to make a witness statement then do so but it won't get you anywhere, i am the registered nurse and i guarentee you won't be listened to, your word against ours."

I am afraid with that I got up and walked out on my way saying "I am definately not staying here to be treated by the likes of you".

Honestly, I have never seen anything like it but I probably look like a hormonal twat. That poor lady, she was so happy I helped her and looked so comfortable after I sorted her out and I just could not bear to see her be treated like that. I cannot bear to think of her going through the last of her dayslike that, I am crying my eyes out. She was obviously at deaths door and I can't bear it.

And now me, I have not had a drink since lunch time as I literally cannot swallow and my face is so swollen on the right side...I am in serious agony. I have just taken some codeine phosphate that I have left from after my caesarian

I can't go back in there, not on my life would I stay in that ward or in there

All those staff in there were in collusion at treating this lady so badly (and they were about to start on an old man was was calling for help too). It was honestly like it was a game to them and that these student nurses had total permission to treat her like that

I honestly feel sick thinking about her in there

ETA...I forgot to say when I first arrived, I saw the lady trying to ask for her sandwich to be passed, and one of those hospital tea ladys picked it up and threw it in the bin saying she had had ages to eat it. I was shocked butI'd just arrived and wasn't aware this was an obvious case of bullying at that point

Comments

[elaine]

Please ring the pct that oversee's the hospital, you need to report this.

[Mandy]

I have just cried reading that,so god knows how you must have felf.Good on you for standing up to those horrible people.That poor old lady,probably many more like her as well.You can and should take it higher,they will listen to you and i hope you get well soon btw xx
We need more people like you in this world xxxx

[Relly]

As soon as my friend is well enough she totally intends to do this but we felt that raising awareness while she was recovering would help.
I don't want it swept under a carpet and if enough people read what she saw then it can't be.

[Ruth]

That is so upsetting... none of them should be doing that job as it sounds like they don't have an ounce of compassion between them. I hope something comes of this and they get brought down a peg or two.

[Helen]

Please go ahead and make the complaint to the hospital. These are the sort of people who give good nurses a bad name. She may well have said that she is the registered nurse and that she is the one who will be believed but this does not make her teflon coated. She has a responsability to her patients regardless of how old they are or how confused they are and a bad example to students under her mentorship.
There are ways in dealing with confused elderly patient and this was not, nor should be one of them. Please! please make your complaint. it is the only way to stamp this sort of behaviour out.

[Angela]

I cannot believe what I have just read. I am in tears from reading this. You're friend is a complete Angel, if only the world was filled with more like her. Please, please report this - is this not supposed to be the caring profession? xx

[Angie]

Words cannot describe how upsetting this incident is :-(. This must be reported. That poor lady.

[Nikki]

done :/

http://www.musingsofagirl.co.uk/?p=100

[Anon]

http://www.patientopinion.org.uk/

[Helen Whittaker]

Absolutely appalling, so so upset by this - something has to be done. :(

[Toniann Harwood]

Disgusting, just imagine if they are doing that in front of other patients what goes on behind the curtains...it makes me shudder.I sincerely hope that this is going to be followed up as i would hate to think that that poor poor lady could be a relative of anyone of us.....

[Suz]

This is appalling...it has really upset me. I hope your friend is well enough soon to report this. I hope that poor lady wasn't on that ward for long...it doesn't bear thinking about.

[Kenneth Jardine]

I am so disheartened by what I have just read. I was Registered Nurse working at Ipswich Hospital about a year and a half ago. I am also a Christian. I cannot believe the behaviour that you describe. I am sure with myself that i would at least have shown some kindness towards her, and not got anywhere near bullying.
I might add that most nurses try to mean well, but there are exceptions. Still, it should not have happened.
I have moved onto other things myself. I hope that this kind of thing is stopped at the hospital.
Personally, I would have had a serious word with the nurse, if I was in management, threatening her job unless it improves.

[Lee Sylvester]

To be honest, I'm actually not surprised by the actions of those nurses, although I disagree with them as much as any of you.

My wife had been in hospital numerous times over recent years (eye operations, child labour) and we've witnessed all sorts. Before my wife lost her eye sight, she too was a nurse, and she would tell me stories of what went on in hospitals, particularly the local childrens hospital and a couple of mental disability hospitals that she worked in for a short while. It seems to me, that due to all the cut backs and changes the government is making, a lot of nurses that stay on nursing aren't the kind that do so for considerate reasons, or that they used to be caring, but have become disgruntled and turned to bullying following the same treatment from our government. Not all nurses, of course...

My advice would be to bring back Hospital Matrons. Give all staff, whether nurse or doctor, male or female, a stiff dressing down on a daily basis. This sort of thing never would have happened in recent decades, and it seems to me that without some form of almost militant supervision, this kind of ridiculous behaviour will happen!

[Mário]

Sad story for sure should not hapen to anyone anywhere, but welcome to the real world...

[Relly]

Mario - I hope you never have to suffer the indignity that the woman in question did. Sure, it's the 'real' world but none of us have to stand for it? Unless you're too weak to stand up to bullying?

[teri]

Those are the types of people you would like to see go to jail and be treated the same way as they treat others. Similarly people that abuse animals should do jail time, then they can all abuse each other.

[Daniel]

Greetings, I feel terribly sorry for that old lady. I had been a health care assistant in the same hospital for about 5 years now and is now finishing my nurse training in just a few months. Never in my career as a health worker that I have seen such behaviour. But if what you say is right and honest I do agre with you that such nurses should have a proper disciplinary action because not only they are giving bad example to their students but they are a disgrace to the profession. Personally, nursing is a very hard profession comparing it to others but what put me to do my training as a nurse is the love to look after my fellow human beings regardless of wher they com from, race, color or nationality. Nursing is a noble job and let us keep it that way! Treat people the way you want them to treat you!!!!

[trudy smith]

I am now in my last year as a student nurse qualifing in a few months. I can honestly say i have never seen any treatment like this towards patients and i agree it is discusting! what if it was there grandmother???? poor lady. this gives the majority of us a bad name.A complaint must be made to PALS at the hospital they deal with complaints, phone the main hospital line and ask to be put through to pals.I do know the ward you are talking about i was there on my last student nurse placement, I loved the staff and thought they all did a fantastic job and can honestly say i never saw any of this behaviour! i'm not defending this behaviour at all, just simply saying i have never whitnessed this. As you are not better i think you need to go to A&E,explain you dont want to go back to this assessment unit because of previous bad experience and the ent team may assess you there and decide what they can do. There is an ent nurse practioner on duty most of the time and i've had the pleasure of working with them i can say they are all very nice, and very knowledgable nurses. good luck

[Nic]

REPORT THIS. I'm truly shocked and horrified by this. :(
These people should not be allowed to work in care!!

[Norelle Cottee]

This situation and any situation similar to this regarding patient care MUST be reported in writing to the Hospital administrators and copied to the constituency's MP, just for good measure BY ANYONE - that means,YOU!! I assure everybody that the Hospital administrators will appreciate having something in their hands that they can do something about, thats their job and they DO CARE about PATIENT CARE, so write that letter. We ALL have a duty of care. The patient who witness this event needs help too. The whole situation is diabolical. The cause should be identified and effectively erradicated. As sadly, this type of mal-practice is not an isolated issue and if left unchallenged WILL get worse and the next victim will be another little old lady, our Mother, our children and us. St/Nurse, Anglia Ruskin University, Mental Health.