Family fury over treatment of 89-year-old patient in Darlington (From Darlington and Stockton Times)
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Family fury over treatment of 89-year-old patient in Darlington
9:54pm Wednesday 20th February 2013 in News
By Andrew Douglas, Deputy News Editor
COMPLAINT: Councillor Sam Zair, whose 89-year-old mother was placed on a mattress on a hospital floor
POLICE are investigating the case of an elderly hospital patient after her family said she was left alone on a mattress on the floor.
Sam Zair said he was appalled at the conditions in which he found his 89-year-old mother at Darlington Memorial Hospital.
Bernice Zair was admitted late last year after becoming ill due to an infection.
Her son and his wife Lesley went to visit and were horrified at what they found.
"She was on a mattress in a room on her own and both of us just couldn't believe what we were seeing," he said.
Last night the hospital said it was unable to comment until the police investigation was complete.
Lesley Zair added: "I wouldn't treat my dog like this - truthfully I wouldn't. There was not even a pillow under her head.
"Remember this is an 89-year-old lady. I was just horrified to see a mattress on the floor with Sam's lovely mum curled up on it."
Mr Zair said his mother, who died last month in the hospital after developing pneumonia, had initially spent 72 hours on a ward before being transferred to the room.
"As a family we are absolutely distraught and I am absolutely disgusted by the way a certain ward in Darlington treated my mother."
He said there were other "major issues" under investigation - adding there seemed to be a lack of staff on duty, many of whom were agency staff.
Mr Zair, who represents Bishop Auckland on Durham County Council, said he did not wish to go into further detail while the investigation is underway.
He was one of the leaders of the Save Our Hospital campaign which tried to prevent the scrapping of 24 hour emergency care at the £67m Bishop Auckland General Hospital.
Critics argued that the loss of the Accident and Emergency department would place an intolerable burden on hospitals in Darlington and Durham.
"With living in Bishop Auckland, mam would have been treated a lot quicker and there would have been a greater continuity of care, it would have been a lot better."
Paying tribute to his mother, Coun Zair, who runs a café in North Bondgate, Bishop Auckland, said: "She was a very hardworking person and she worked even beyond retirement. She was a fantastic cook, she loved to please everyone."
A spokesman for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, said last night: "We offer our condolences to Mr Zair for his recent loss.
"We have received his complaint which is being investigated with the involvement of the police, in line with local safeguarding adults guidance.
"We have made Mr Zair aware that we cannot complete our investigation and respond to the issues he has raised until the police investigation is complete.
"It would be inappropriate to comment on an on-going investigation."
No-one from Durham Police was available for comment tonight.
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Comments(31)
Mummy to 2
says...
11:12pm Wed 20 Feb 13
In that S**T hole, My nanna was in their and never
Came home she had loads of injurys whilst in their
Care animals are treated better their is always the
Excuse of where under staffed this is what happens
When they close a perfectly Good hospital (BAGH)
How many more family's are going to suffer due to the
Negligence of DMH!
willabbi123
says...
6:35am Thu 21 Feb 13
hemmi1
says...
7:28am Thu 21 Feb 13
willabbi123 wrote:if falling out of bed was an issue then bed guards would have been used
I think it was a safe option. She couldn't fall out of bed if she was on a mattress on the floor.
please remove your offencive comments
hemmi1
says...
7:29am Thu 21 Feb 13
willabbi123 wrote:if falling out of bed was an issue then bed guards would have been used
I think it was a safe option. She couldn't fall out of bed if she was on a mattress on the floor.
please remove your offencive comments
Blankface
says...
8:12am Thu 21 Feb 13
hemmi1 wrote:Don't really see how it was offensive, not all beds are compatible with bed guards and a bed with guards may not have been available so it was a reasonable comment but as usual people are quick to jump down others throats.
willabbi123 wrote: I think it was a safe option. She couldn't fall out of bed if she was on a mattress on the floor.if falling out of bed was an issue then bed guards would have been used please remove your offencive comments
Ally F
says...
8:55am Thu 21 Feb 13
What we can be sure of, is that the pressure on resources in our hospitals and the Welfare State is going to massively increase over the next few decades. Just open your eyes in any town centre and look around - many of the young kids especially girls smoking from their early teens, morbidly obese kids living on junk food and processed cr@p, alcohol and substance abuse, dozens of obese and unfit people in mobility scooters, diabetes rife, chain smoking, poor diet, poor lifestyle, zero exercise, much of this due to a simple lack of personal control.
And somehow the state is expected to provide for all these people come the time they end up in hospital after the inevitable consequences of their lifestyle catch up with them. Who is going to pay for it? Where will the resources come from? There's only so much the State can do, their only revenue is taxes.
Speaking frankly, the selfish, ‘couldn't care less’ thoughtless lifestyle of so many will be to the detriment of the care in of us all in years to come. I fear the alleged care failings of Bernice Zair will become the norm when our hospitals are overloaded to bursting with a generation in hospital with avoidable self-imposed medical conditions. It's the elephant in the sitting room, or in the mobility scooter in this case - we all know it, the politicians know it, but it would be electoral suicide to suggest people start taking responsibility for their own health a little more and stop assuming the State will meet their needs from cradle to grave.
Once upon a time in the decades immediately after WW2 it could, but for how much longer? We’ve got a ticking time bomb in this country, a one that could bankrupt the welfare state as we know it. Perhaps if we didn't have a NHS people might start taking their own health much more seriously and looking after themselves a bit more?
Perhaps if those in hospital with self-imposed conditions due to smoking, drinking, lack of self-control, etc., were made to pay for part of their care costs then better care could be provided to people like Bernice Zair in their hour of need? People who have worked all their life, taken care of their lifestyle into old age and paid into the system. Food for thought (pun intended)
sammy d
says...
9:12am Thu 21 Feb 13
shazjb
says...
9:29am Thu 21 Feb 13
sd3917
says...
9:31am Thu 21 Feb 13
roblatch
says...
9:37am Thu 21 Feb 13
tomdeacon
says...
9:49am Thu 21 Feb 13
I would of been devastated if she had climbed over bed rails and fallen on the floor
kirstey16
says...
10:29am Thu 21 Feb 13
I have witnessed many patients try climb out of bed even with the bed rails up. One gentleman was even standing up on the bed itself once. So as a loved one i would rather my relative be on a mattress on the floor than risk falling!
I have to say here, and it may be controversial but it sounds as though the family have been against the hospital from the outset here, if he was leader of the Bishop Auckland Save Our Hospital campaign then is this being done to slur DMH as units were moved there from BAGH??
If it was my relative.... id question it and who knows id may ask for an investigation but getting the media involved...? No! Why the need for the media involvement before the investigation ends? Have some dignity.
Its so sad the lady died, but i dont believe from the information given on here it is DMH fault.
RIP.
Kirstey Walker
CLANSMAN
says...
10:32am Thu 21 Feb 13
Till they said they could do no more and said that they would not revive him if he had any further complications and said they wanted the bed back and I had to sort out care for him and within 24 hours . Its a complicted story but I felt that hospitals are just a business and need to turnover a lot of people to get grants / money off goverment . Due to urgent care needed I chose a home they assesed him and as he was a fully paying for his care they took him like another business even though they couldnt cope with his needs. Due to this his condition became worse and he became weak thankfully a district nurse spoke up and mentioned it and he was reassessed and thankfully had the last few weeks of his life in good care. My father was in very good health before his trip to the restbite care home and I feel he paid them with his savings to kill himself off with a very pooor standard of care ... I am not a counciller like the Zairs and we just paid up all care costs and now live with the anger of the system and the care that he recieved ... I suspect our family is not alone but just suffer in silence knowiing this will still be going on today ..
freelance
says...
11:35am Thu 21 Feb 13
There is a facility for reporting on any comments that are unsuitable.
fairLucyRose
says...
1:35pm Thu 21 Feb 13
And WELL SAID Ally F ! Couldn't have put it better myself ! The increasing strain on the NHS coupled with our expectations that all our health problems can be sorted, are forever increasing. We really do need to take more responsibility for our own health and teach our children the same.
There is a tremendous amount we can do through good nutrition, exercise, vitamins and a positive lifestyle etc... and it doesn't need to be expensive either. We managed it with our four children with only one of working and they are now leading healthy lifestyles themselves. It really works !
There is an awful lot of junk food on sale in our supermarkets and we need to be much more selective about how we feed ourselves and our children - and also encourage our families to take up good habits as they get older..
Enough said.........
outragedofmiltonkeynes
says...
3:16pm Thu 21 Feb 13
spragger
says...
9:10pm Thu 21 Feb 13
If 1200 people had been killed in the private sector the lefties would be in uproar
Why will the Chief Exec of the NHS Nicholson not resign?
IanfromCrook
says...
11:37pm Thu 21 Feb 13
You get the picture....a tangent I know.
I feel the deepest sympathy for Mr Zair and wish him good fortune to find the answers he and his family should get. I had a bad experience with my mother at UHND and did not get answers.
simmo707
says...
9:21am Fri 22 Feb 13
Cameron’s new Justice and Security Bill is quietly weaving its way through Parliament whilst the Media kept the General Public entertained with the Horsemeat fiasco because that’s all it was they spent more coverage on that than NHS Deaths ,ATOS Deaths ,Workfare and Draconian cuts .Less Government criticism .Now the proposed Bill is out in the Public Domain they are highlighting the Vicky Pryce Court case to promote Court Procedures needing change from using Juries . The new courts will be attended only by security-vetted special advocates. Milliband agrees wholeheartedly with the new Bill as new evidence emanating from Libya cites Blair and Straw as being complicit in detaining Gaddafi opponents and using torture in exchange for business deals .Labour and Con/Libs are allowing more of our Democracy to be eroded .www.brokenbritainun
dertories.com
lechef
says...
10:14am Fri 22 Feb 13
Spy Boy
says...
6:28pm Fri 22 Feb 13
IanfromCrook
says...
7:22pm Fri 22 Feb 13
Spy Boy wrote:non-vocational staff of all rank I would suggest.
The authorities are busy elsewhere at the moment, but I'm sure they'll get around to DMH at some point in the near future. They will probably hit the national headlines too. Again, the rise of the non-vocational executive is causing problems.
outragedofmiltonkeynes
says...
8:35pm Fri 22 Feb 13
Lisa237
says...
10:38pm Fri 22 Feb 13
Any person being put on a mattress in a hospital should have a carer if it is for a safety reason, but due to lack of staff in Darlington Hospital that would never happen.
I previously visited my Grandad who was in Darlington Memorial. My Grandad, aged 82, waited for 11 hours in a wheelchair in the corridor as there was 'no beds spare.'
Eventually, when a bed was made free, it was pointless. The staff was limited and the 'available' staff were uninterested. I witnessed a man lying in his own mess for 25 minutes after pressing his buzzer and getting no response my little sister (aged 17) went to look for a nurse to come and help as he was seriously distressed. The respone she got was 'we are on that room next, he can wait'.
People who have paid their taxes and worked all of their life are being treat unfairly because the focus is not on them anymore. We must be using too many beds for the under age kids that are having kids these days as that rate is increasingly rapidly.
Darlington Memorial Hospital is an absolute disgrace and in the past 6/7 months that i have visited the place i would guarantee that my Grandad would have been safer going home.
This really needs to be dealt with so that no other cases like this happen. It is getting beyond a joke. Families should not witness this. A hospital is supposed to be the SAFEST place for a person, where they are getting the best care and so families can relax a little knowing they are in safe hands, not treat worse than animals.
I hope this family gets justice.
Thinking of you all
darlo oily
says...
1:26pm Sat 23 Feb 13
People from sw durham hate darlington and that is the honest truth.
How this man can use his mam's suffering for political capital is disgusting.
The real reason BAH was downgraded was it was built under PPI and downgrading was easy.
If you are looking for someone to blame blame Blair's half assed scheme not those that have to deal with the consequences.
Perhaps if DMH was not full of obese welfare scrounging alcoholics there would be more time for genuine cases.
In summary, Darlo has lost 2 hospitals in my time so don't blame us!
IanfromCrook
says...
9:20pm Sat 23 Feb 13
darlo oily wrote:I think your comments are quite repugnant and the person who is truly warping both the general feelings of people commenting and the particular feelings of the family involved is yourself.
The problem with this story (and the comments) is this:-
People from sw durham hate darlington and that is the honest truth.
How this man can use his mam's suffering for political capital is disgusting.
The real reason BAH was downgraded was it was built under PPI and downgrading was easy.
If you are looking for someone to blame blame Blair's half assed scheme not those that have to deal with the consequences.
Perhaps if DMH was not full of obese welfare scrounging alcoholics there would be more time for genuine cases.
In summary, Darlo has lost 2 hospitals in my time so don't blame us!
Any right minded person would see your comment for what it is a highly politicised rant which attacks a family that has every right to ask questions.
As for PFI (not PPI) there is no connection what so ever A&Es have been closed in non PFIs and PFIs....no proof no connection. (though there is an argument that the proliferation of PPIs has put extra financial strain on trusts....I dont buy this as a cause for service transfers though).
Alcoholics and obese people actually often manage to hold down jobs. Although some alcoholics maybe their visiting their long suffering wives.
As for scroungers they wont be there they will be sitting at home drinking champagne and eating chips while watching their plasma TVs. It is sad that people insist on making capitol out of other peoples distress. I hope you keep well and continue to be employed.
jeanie b. bishop
says...
2:35pm Mon 25 Feb 13
spangle32
says...
11:21am Tue 26 Feb 13
jeanie b. bishop wrote:I agree with your comments jeanie however the lack of staff is the major problem. The majority of long serving staff these days are frustrated that the quality of care is not what they want. I work in the BAH and despite the animosity between the hospitals is in the minds of the public .I know the pressures they are working under and are just skimming over the cracks whether that is good enough for them thats their problem but when the patients come to us we try our best but every thing is not black and white . I and my colleague well the majority of them try and treat patients the same way as I would like any of my family treat. There are good and bad nurses / doctors/ physios / receptionists / clerical workers in the nhs and fortunately the former outnumber the latter in massive percentages but the latter are ones who hit the headlines smearing the good with a tarry brush from which the stains are very difficult to remove!
I hope that in the fullness of time Mr Darlo oily that NONE of your family have to pass over this way. How would you feel if one of your parents were taken into hospital and when you went in to visit you found them laid on the floor ?? Now come on hand on gob time. insencetive !! I know the Zair family and I also knew Bernice. A lovely lady and at NO time in the Interview with the BBC was it stated that Mr Zair was a councillor, and I can promise you that Mr Zairs political career is the last thing on his or his familys mind. You may like to look at the bigger picture in stead of making idiotic remarks, and try signing your real name.
ian16527
says...
12:27pm Tue 26 Feb 13
I can honestly say that the staff in the admitting ward and A&E (cant remember which number) were excellent, and very busy, understaffed at the time and were rushed off their feet. The sister never stopped for a break from 7am till I left at 5pm.
What is causing this problem, easy, the downgrading of BAGH to an outpatients clinic, so that every body is stuffed into DMH till it pops. It seems policy to send everyone from Bishop Auckland to DMH and not to Durham for some reason.
The ambulances are taking a hell of a hit as well. Many elderley people cannot drive so visiting loved ones in DMH is also a nightmare.
I really think the Health Authority Board members should be accountable to the local public, and be elected by the people, not as they are now, untouchable.
littlewinney
says...
1:37pm Tue 26 Feb 13
I have worked in a residential home, and we had a Resident who kept falling/ wanting to get out of bed 24/7. Bed rails were not appropriate as he kept trying to climb over. which would have injured him even more. As with all care homes and hospitals being short staffed meant it was not possible to have one member of staff with him 24 hours a day. To keep him from having a nasty fall, which would inevitably result in a fracture. He was placed on a mattress on the floor to keep him safe. . I think we need to know the full facts before we can judge.
Homshaw1 says...
10:28pm Wed 20 Feb 13