Man hits out at mum's hospital care after stroke

A man said a lack of care for his 96-year-old mother following a stroke after she left hospital, left her bedridden and without dignity in her final days.

Vivien Lester spent nearly two weeks stuck in her care home bed after leaving New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton on 11 April, despite her son's pleas to the hospital for a specialist wheelchair, physiotherapy and speech therapy.

Mrs Lester died in the early hours of Monday and her son Tony told BBC Midlands Today that "I think mum had given up the fight".

Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust offered its condolences to the family and a spokesperson added they would welcome the chance to discuss his concerns about his mother's aftercare.

Mrs Lester had a stroke on 3 April and was taken to New Cross Hospital before being discharged back to her care home in Wednesfield, eight days later.

I first visited Tony after his mum was discharged and was still alive, on 25 April, two weeks after she had been discharged.

"She needs the aftercare that she desperately wants so she can move her arms, speak a little bit more and be sitting and mixing with other people," he said at that time.

"She needs her dignity back. She's being washed in bed, toileted in bed."

Mr Lester said it had taken 13 days after discharge for a hospital doctor to call him, adding that "[the doctor] said she would not benefit from respite because of her age and how frail she was".

He said he told the doctor he was unhappy with the decision and would complain to the hospital.

Mr Lester said he was eventually contacted about speech and physiotherapy after he left messages and raised concerns but his mum was never seen.

Mrs Lester started work as a civil servant in 1948, the year the NHS was established but now her only child said the system had let her down.

He added she spent her final days "bedridden" and it was sad "that she didn't get the support she needed".

Joe Chadwick-Bell, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust's group chief executive, said in a statement: "We would like to offer our condolences to Mr Lester and his family during this difficult time.

"We would also welcome the opportunity to discuss Mr Lester's concerns about the aftercare his mother received."

In Mrs Lester's final two years she was a resident at Avery Newcross Care Home, having sold her home of 60 years to fund care after several falls.

Her family said they were happy with the care she received at the home.

A spokesperson for Avery Healthcare, which runs the home, said they were "deeply saddened to hear of Vivien's passing" and she was "a cherished resident".

Mr Lester said he was speaking out about his mother's final weeks in the hope of helping others to have "dignity in their dying days".

"There's obviously people of my mum's age, or even younger, who've been discharged from hospital without the service, the backup," he added.

"But have they got someone to fight for them? How many people are out there waiting for appointments and not getting anywhere?"

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