The BBC has reported that a mother has criticised the health service for failing to give her daughter, who suffers from epilepsy, safe care.
Interestingly, the mother in question is Ms Donna Ockenden, a senior midwife who has been leading a review into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. She therefore clearly has a clear and critical perspective as to what ought to be expected of the health service.
Left in a chair for hours
Whilst not wanting to name the hospital involved, Ms Ockenden said that her daughter, who has epilepsy and was having seizures at the time, was left in a chair on her own for seven hours after being taken to hospital by ambulance.
She said of what happened to her daughter:
“Despite her learning disabilities and being known to the service, she was dropped off in the waiting room on her own. She is 20 but she is really vulnerable, and was left in a chair for seven hours still having some seizures. Initially she was left in the waiting area on her own. It’s just unspeakable, it’s absolutely disgusting and disgraceful.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said that the experience was “unacceptable” and “symptomatic of our broken NHS”.
Winter worries
As pressures mount on the NHS with the winter months causing more people to become ill and need treatment, there are obvious concerns that this is one of many similar stories which are yet to be told.
As she spoke about also helping other patients who had been left on trolleys, including an elderly lady calling for water, Ms Ockenden stated:
“I’m desperately worried about this winter.”
“I am praying fervently that [my daughter] doesn’t need to go into A&E any more but with her health complexities, we’ll be very lucky if we get through the winter without her needing to go in.”
Comment
Ms Ockenden has significant experience of the issues currently facing the NHS as she has already led an inquiry into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals, and now continues work on the investigation into Nottingham maternity services. She therefore knows when care is not what it ought to be and has confidence to speak out about this experience.
There is a lot of pressure on NHS services across the board which cannot be fixed overnight. However, stories such as Ms Ockenden’s daughter are a stark reminder of just how awful things are.
This cannot continue and the government must act to provide the support that is needed to turn things around and protect patients.
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Danielle Young is a Legal Director in our Medical Negligence team, which has been ranked in tier one by the independently researched publication, The Legal 500.
If you have any questions in relation to the subjects discussed in this article, then please get in touch with Danielle or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
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