IT’S PURE NEGLIGENCE
Family furious after Joseph, 85, goes into hospital for meds check, breaks both hips in fall then catches Covid-19 and dies
A GREAT-grandfather has died after breaking both hips and then contracting Covid – all while a patient in Scots hospitals.
Joseph Gorman’s children were called to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, on Thursday to say goodbye to their father – who only went to hospital after a problem caused by his cancer medication. He died the following day. Joseph’s son Joe, 62, spoke yesterday about his father’s treatment at the Vale of Leven Hospital, Dunbartonshire, and the RAH after reading in the Record about 18 nurses and 14 patients at the RAH becoming infected with the virus on ward 23 – where his father was.
Nurses told how they believed the PPE they have been issued is not appropriate for nursing Covid patients and leaves them open to infection and puts patients at risk.
Joe said: “The hospitals are negligent for allowing my father to fall out of bed twice and the Scottish Government is negligent for not giving nurses the proper PPE which may have prevented my dad and other patients from getting this virus.”
Joseph, 85, of Tullichewan, Alexandria, was taken into the Vale of Leven Hospital on September 13 with breathlessness problems associated with his cancer medication.
Joe said: “The day after he went in, he fell out of bed and broke his hip. He was transferred to the RAH on September 17 and had his operation the following day. Two days after, he fell out of bed again and broke his other hip.
“He needed a blood transfusion because his count was low so he didn’t have surgery on that hip until September 22.”
Ten days later, Joseph was diagnosed with coronavirus. He died on Friday at 8.20pm.
Joe said: “What happened to my dad is frightening. I wish he had never gone into hospital.”
A spokesman from NHS GG&C said: “We understand this must be a very distressing time for the family and our sympathies are with them at this time. We are unable to comment on individual cases but we can confirm we are in contact with the family to discuss the patient’s overall level of care.”