6. On 9 June 2021 Mrs T attended the emergency department with bleeding after a blood transfusion the day before. She had these transfusions twice monthly. Miss I feared a blood vessel had burst. The Trust has said an ultrasound scan showed a longstanding hepatic vein dilation caused by Mrs T’s chronic heart failure.
7. During the time Mrs T spent on the first ward, Miss I was allowed to visit her mother and did so on 17 and 20 June 2021. Miss I says her mother liked this ward and was not happy when she was told she would be moved.
8. On 21 June Mrs T was moved to a second ward for assessment. The staff on the new ward told Miss I she would be able to visit her mother on this ward, but she was unable to visit her mother in the hospital from this time onwards.
9. On 23 June Miss I was allowed to take her mother to receive laser eye surgery. Miss I was unhappy that, although she could not visit her mother on the second ward, she was not required to do a COVID-19 test before collecting her mother for the appointment. At this time Mrs T told her daughter about the patient who had stood at the end of her bed during the night, shouting at her. Upon return to the hospital Miss I spoke to a nurse about the patient, saying she did not think her mother was safe around this patient. The nurse assured her that although they could not move the patient, Mrs T and the patient would not be left alone together.
10. On 24 June Mrs T reported to a nurse she was assaulted by another patient. Mrs T had previously raised complaints about this patient, who had been verbally abusive to her. A nurse then called Miss I to tell her about the assault. The Trust has said they were unable to move the patient at the time due to a lack of beds but moved them at the earliest opportunity. The assault was reported to the internal incident reporting system and local authority safeguarding team, but they were advised they did not need to take further action.
11. Later that day Mrs T was moved to a third ward, a cardiology ward, as she had heart failure. Mrs T was reviewed by a doctor and found to have fluid in her lower body. Her weight at this time was recorded as 11 stone seven pounds. She was given antidiuretic medication (medication used to control the balance of fluid in the body) to remove this fluid. The doctor said her weight should be monitored daily.
12. On 25 June Miss I contacted the Trust’s complaints team and was told she had up to 12 months to make a formal complaint. As she was worried a complaint might affect her mother’s care, she did not make a complaint at this time. She was also told she would receive a copy of the hospital’s enquiry regarding her mother’s assault within 35 days, but she never received this.
13. Following the assault Miss I contacted Greater Manchester Police to report the incident. They contacted the Trust on 28 June and the Trust agreed to co-operate with their enquiry.
14. Miss I asked nurses on several occasions during her mother’s time in hospital if she could take a COVID-19 test so she could see her mother. However, she was not allowed to visit, and on some occasions she was not called back after speaking to a doctor or nurse.
15. On 5 July Mrs T was fitted with two new hearing aids as they had been lost. The Trust did not have any information about when or where the hearing aids went missing.
16. On 6 August, upon leaving the hospital, Mrs T weighed 5 stone 11 pounds. Shortly after she left hospital Miss I asked for her GP to visit her mother to see how frail she was. The GP said her mother should not have been on the amount of paracetamol she had been on previously (two tablets, four times a day) due to her weight, as this could have harmful effects on her body.
17. Following her discharge Miss I says her mother was very hungry and would eat small meals often. Miss I believes this shows her mother was not eating properly during her time in the hospital. Mrs T sadly passed away in August 2021.