Heatherwood Hospital
Wife slams terminally ill husband's 'diabolical' treatment at Wexham Park Hospital
The wife of a terminally-ill man has slammed a hospital's 'diabolical' treatment of her husband after he was given a pillowcase to dry himself.
Becky Barnes
The 64-year-old, from Bracknell said her husband was 'completely humiliated' when staff claimed they had run out of towels on Tuesday, November 20.
She said: "Somebody in the hierarchy is not doing their job properly – you can't blame the nurses, but I think it is diabolical and degrading. I wasn't there but he rang me completely humiliated. I wanted to ring up, but he is frightened he will get the backlash."
The 74-year-old is being treated for prostate cancer at Wexham Park Hospital's private Paragon Suite.
It is not the first time the woman has complained about the Slough hospital and she said they waited more than six hours for a bed when her husband first arrived for a blood transfusion at midday on November 14.
She said: "He has to go to the hospital every three months and we were told there was no space in Ward Two so they gave him a bed in the private ward after waiting until 6.30pm."
On previous visits, the couple said they have had 'many' problems.
The woman claimed: "They put him in a bed in October last year and he waited for two days and the surgeon denied all knowledge he was there.
"Then there are staff that don't speak English and don't know the difference between marmalade and Marmite – my husband is diabetic so this is a problem. I have got no objections to foreign people working in out hospitals, but you can't speak to them if they don't speak English."
The wife also complained hospital staff had put the 'nasty stuff' on another patient's locker after giving her husband a full bladder wash and said their behaviour was 'sloppy'.
She added: "This time round the staff have looked after him really well, but he was humiliated by the experience."
A Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokeswoman said: "There is certainly no shortage of towels in the Trust, and we would like to sincerely apologise if one was not available in this instance.
"Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust takes all aspects of our patients' care very seriously. We actively promote feedback from patients in a variety of ways, and would very much welcome the patient to contact us so we can listen to their concerns."
Wexham Park Hospital