I would rather be dead: Agony of tragic patient at £1bn hospital
THE family of an elderly former nurse claim she suffered a catalogue of care failures at a £1billion super hospital – and told them she’d ‘rather be dead’ than suffer there.
Isobel Sweeney, 80, was being treated at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, in Glasgow, before her death in December.
Her family said they feel let down by the quality of care she received and claim she was left languishing in a single room without adequate checks from nurses.
On one occasion, they allege she waited for hours in excruciating pain for morphine. They claim the list of failings also included:
Having to wrap Miss Sweeney in towels to keep her warm.
Relatives having to empty her catheter bag.
Being told by nurse when they asked for a doctor: ‘It’s the weekend, it’s anyone’s guess how long you will wait.’
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has said it will launch a full investigation.
Miss Sweeney, from Muirfield, in Glasgow’s South Side, was admitted on November 30.
Her daughter, Maureen Joyce, 56, said: ‘She had had radiotherapy treatment for oesophageal cancer in August. She had no energy and was having problems breathing.
‘There was a whole line of people in the corridor waiting to get admitted. She was put in a cubicle. When we called in the morning, she still hadn’t been transferred to a ward.’
Miss Sweeney’s granddaughter Jennifer Thomson, 33, said: ‘The bed didn’t even have pillows. When I asked for a pillow, the nurse told me “they are like gold dust”.’
Miss Sweeney, a former auxiliary nurse, was later transferred to a single room, but her granddaughter said it was freezing cold.
She said: ‘My sister Nicola and I had to put towels round her feet and wrap her up because she was that cold. We were having to rub her to try to circulate the blood.
‘When we complained, they said it was a known issue. All the systems for the rooms are computerised and it is linked to a central office. We asked if she could move to another room and they said they didn’t have one.’
She added: ‘When I walked in one day she was in sheer agony. The doctor said he was going to give her morphine. She was suffering for hours. She was saying things like: “I’d rather be dead than in this pain”.’
Miss Sweeney was eventually transferred to critical care, where a chest X-ray revealed she had a serious lung infection. She died days later. The family plans to complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.
The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, formerly the Southern General, has been blighted by controversy since it was opened by the Queen last year. In November, an elderly man died after eight hours on a trolley in the immediate assessment unit. A spot-check in
‘Our staff were distressed’
December found a woman had been left starving for eight days at a unit for the elderly.
The hospital also recorded the country’s worst accident and emergency waiting times at the start of the year.
A spokesman for NHSGGC said: ‘We are sorry that the family have such serious concerns about their loved one’s care and our staff were distressed that this is the case.
‘They have not raised any complaints with us and we would urge them to get in touch so we can undertake a full investigation.
‘Our wards operate a system of active care that ensures patients are seen regularly by nursing staff, whilst recognising families want privacy with their loved ones.
‘Sadly, this patient’s condition meant that she had a low body temperature and did need additional blankets – but not because there was a fault with the heating system.’
The family, who challenge the health board’s assertion about Miss Sweeney’s body temperature, now intend to make an official complaint.