E-mail To Keith Ford

E-Mail To Keith Ford Chief Executive Of Mayday Hospital

From: Ian Perkin [ianperkin@blueyonder.co.uk]
Sent: 07 November 2003 07:38
To: 'Keith.Ford@mayday.nhs.uk'
Subject: RE: Patient Complaint

Dear Mr Ford

It is of course entirely up to you who you delegate your responsibilities too, in respect of my mothers clinical care at your Trust. I however shall continue to communicate with you, as you are the Chief Executive of the Trust and I do not consider that the response from some of those who have the responsibility for my mothers care at your hospital have acted either adequately or appropriately and it is therefore not unreasonable of me to bring this to your attention as Chief Executive.

It is now a week since I asked to meet and speak to a member of the medical staff at your Trust to discuss my mothers condition and I still have not had any response from anyone within your organisation to arrange such a meeting, in fact I have not had any response to this request at all. Indeed Dr Diggory yesterday left an answer phone message for my father to contact him, despite the fact that I hold power of attorney for both of my parents because of their respective medical problems and we have both made it clear to members of your staff, that all matters related to my mothers care are to be addressed to me.

Having visited my mother at Purley Hospital at lunch time today to assist with her feeding, I spoke to Sister Anderson Lawrence the ward sister on my mothers ward. As a result of that meeting and a telephone call I had later in the afternoon with Shelia Black the Care Manager, who Sister Anderson Lawrence advised me to telephone, I have further complaints that I wish to draw to your attention.

Firstly when I asked yet again if I could talk to a member of the medical staff I was told that the only doctor attending the patients had left for the day.

Secondly Sister Anderson Lawrence told me that my mother should have been assessed at Mayday before she was transferred between hospitals as Mayday have physiotherapy and occupational therapy facilities which Purley Hospital do not. In her view if my mother had been properly assessed at Mayday in may have been that therapy services properly applied may have assisted my mother in being able to walk again.

Thirdly Sister told me that my mother was being given a general anti-biotic for yet another infection that she has apparently picked up, making it three she has contracted while under the care of your Trust. She asked me that I did not judge Purley Hospital on the standards applied at Mayday, as they would work hard at Purley to care for my mother during the twenty-eight days that she said would be at Purley? They would try and care for my mother well. Sister also told me that I should telephone Shelia Black the care manger.

I rang Shelia Black and she told me that she had requested on the 24th October that a Nursing Needs Assessment be carried out on my mother. She said that looking at the file now it was clear that this had not been done, as it should have been before my mother was transferred to Purley Hospital. She said she could not explain why this had not been done and also told me that according to the information she had been given, my mother's only clinical problem was that she was suffering from a single broken hip. When I told her that several weeks ago she had sustained further injuries while in the care of the Mayday Trust and now had several new fractures of the hip, she said that was not recorded on the file that she had in her possession. What perhaps more alarmingly she said, was that Purley Hospital was a holding bay for geriatric patients and that when the pressure was on the Acute beds at Mayday, elderly patients were sometimes hastily moved out before they had been properly assessed to ease the pressure at the main hospital. This of course confirmed to me what I had always suspected was behind the lack of consideration and care my mother had received.

I have no complaints about the conduct of either Sister Anderson Lawrence or Shelia Black as they were both very helpful to me and I applaud their candour in speaking so frankly about the real Mayday Trust and the problems it is experiencing in dealing with geriatric patients.

My additional complaints which should be added to those I have already made to you are as follows:-

1). I would like an explanation as to why my mother was not properly assessed before she was moved to Purley Hospital as I have been advised should have been the case.

2). I would like to be told why my mother was not given access to the therapy services,which Sister Anderson Lawrence tells me could have assisted my mother to recover her ability to walk again had they been properly applied.

3). I would like an explanation as to why Sheila Black's request for a nursing assessment to be carried out on the 24th October at Mayday Hospital was never carried out and why Sheila was not informed about the additional fractures that my mother picked up while in the Trust's care.

4). Why despite my request (now over a week old) that I speak to a member of the senior medical team to discuss my mothers condition, I have still not been given an appointment to see anyone who can explain what has happened to my mother and what the long term prognosis is.

5). Why despite the fact that both my father and myself have made it clear that I am the person to represent our family in terms of all clinical decisions made in respect of my mother's clinical care, Dr Diggory still leaves messages for my father to telephone him.

Yours sincerely

Ian Perkin

-----Original Message-----
From: Keith.Ford@mayday.nhs.uk [mailto:Keith.Ford@mayday.nhs.uk]
Sent: 06 November 2003 17:09
To: ianperkin@blueyonder.co.uk
Cc: Jacqui.Rose@mayday.nhs.uk
Subject: RE: Patient Complaint

Dear Mr Perkin

My email was a courtesy to confirm receipt of yours. Experience shows that it is not wise to have parallel streams of correspondence going with different parts of the hospital, so your response is being forwarded to Patient services team who are responsible for organising the response process on my behalf. All other emails will be similarly forwarded.

Keith Ford

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Perkin [mailto:ianperkin@blueyonder.co.uk]
Sent: 06 November 2003 11:23
To: Keith.Ford@mayday.nhs.uk
Cc: patsypayne@croydonadvertiser.co.uk
Subject: RE: Patient Complaint

Thank you for letting me know that I will be getting a reply. However, your hospital in over a week has not produced a member of the medical staff to tell me what has happened to my mother, or what is going to happen to her clinically in the future. I thought that this was something that you would have arranged to happen ASAP given that I have been asking to talk to someone since last Friday.

Ian Perkin

-----Original Message-----
From: Keith.Ford@mayday.nhs.uk [mailto:Keith.Ford@mayday.nhs.uk]
Sent: 06 November 2003 09:04
To: ianperkin@blueyonder.co.uk
Cc: Christina.Bonanno@mayday.nhs.uk
Subject: RE: Patient Complaint

confirm received.I'll ask our Patient Services to copy reply on email as long as postal difficulties continue.

Keith Ford

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Perkin [mailto:ianperkin@blueyonder.co.uk]
Sent: 05 November 2003 11:16
To: keith.ford@mayday.nhs.uk
Subject: Patient Complaint

Dear Keith

Please find attached a copy of a letter which I have today sent you in the post. I am also e-mailing you a copy because of the current postal difficulties.

Yours sincerely

Ian Perkin