Battered gran’s six-hour wait to see hospital doctor
A FORMAL complaint is beingmade about a woman’s “disgraceful” treatment at anewhos- pital after being battered at home by burglars. Jean Thomas (78) suffered the fur-
ther distress of having to wait more than six hours before being seen by a doctor at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Pembury. Her son Howard said: “I told them,
‘you have a state-of-the-art hospital but your care is the most appalling we have ever seen’.” At one point, Howard’s brother,
Clive, who is a critical care para- medic himself, had to clean the blood off his mum’s two-inch head wound where she had been hit with a chair. “My brother could not believe what was going on.We are in the process of making a formal complaint,” said Howard. The doctors’ rota in A&E has since been revised to increase cover at busy times. The three suspected burglars –whoHoward described as “scumbags” – left Mrs Thomas’s bungalow empty-handed. Already two re- wardshave been offered for the culprits’ arrest and conviction. Staplehurst Parish Council may install
CCTV in the village following the attack. Howard said: “There has been a lot of com- munity love and support for which we are very grateful. It means an awful lot to mum. The police have been very good and support- ive. But the way mum was treated at hospi- tal was absolutely disgraceful.” Howard detailed the timetable of shame
(his times are approximate): 1.10am Mrs Thomas arrives at hospital
1.40 She was booked in 2.15 Seen by triage nurse 3.30 Nurse checks her vital signs -– but only after her son’s complaint 5.15 Howard complained “vigor- ously” that a doctor had not seen her. Original triage nurse cleans her wound and glues it 7.20 Doctor finally sees her. But Howard said: “I had to go to
Jean Thomas after she was bru- tally assaulted
the doctors’ desk and say, ‘She has been here for over six hours, when are you going to see my mum?’ and he said, ‘OK, I'll see her now’. “They gave her a 10-minute once-
over, anX-ray and sent her home. It was just horrendous.”
Howard claimed his mum’s mental state
was not checked. He added: “The shockwas setting in and after four hours of waiting she had not even been given a cup of tea. “She was saying she wanted to go home
and let her GP see her in the morning. So we had two hours of calming mum down. “It was terrible, despicable.” Aspokesman forMaidstone and Tunbridge
WellsNHS Trust said:“We are sorry thatMrs Thomas had to wait for longer than we would have wished to see a doctor. “A&E at TunbridgeWells Hospital was ex- ceptionally busy that evening. “Mrs Thomas was immediately assessed,
her condition was monitored and she was treated by senior nurses throughout her time in A&E.We explained and apologised to her and her family about the wait to see a doctor. “We have since revised the doctors’ rota in A&Eat TWHto increase cover at busy times.”
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Birth centre opened THE Maidstone Birth Centre was officially opened by Professor CathyWarwick, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives. Cutting a ribbon in front of a 100-strong audience, which included local mothers and midwives, ProfWarwick (pictured) congratulated Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust on being among the 5% nationally that can now offer midwifery services for home births, at the birth cen- tre and at its consultant-led unit. As Downs Mail went to press, there had
been more than 60 births at the centre since it opened in late September. The purpose-built, stand-alone centre in the grounds of Maidstone Hospital is run by experienced senior midwives. Consultant midwife Sarah Gregson said
she was delighted to see the £2.7m project come to a successful completion, adding: “A birth centre delivery is best suited for women with a straightforward pregnancy who want to give birth in a home-like set- ting. “We planned to have up to 200 births at
the centre during our first year but it al- ready looks as if we will exceed that. This is well within our capacity of 500 births.”
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