Weston Hospital patient speaks about 'shocking' experience

A former chief nurse has spoken about "shocking" care she received in hospital.

Lindsey was staying in Weston General Hospital after bowel cancer surgery.

She told the University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Trust (UHBW) board that she witnessed unsafe practices, despite the ward being well-staffed.

Paula Clarke, executive managing director at the hospital, said it was important to listen to "uncomfortable stories" to "make a difference."

Lindsey told the board that she was placed at "significant risk" whilst recovering from the six-hour operation which involved removing part of her bowel.

She said that nurses in the ward showed a lack of compassion to patients, with one support worker failing to help a patient who was vomiting and "screaming" in pain.

The board also heard that nurses did not wash their hands after treating a patient with Covid, which Lindsey later tested positive for.

Lindsey described one night as "truly distressing", staying awake because it was the only way she felt she could be safe.

"My profession let me down repeatedly and my safety was significantly compromised.

"For 40 years I've had an arrogance that nurses are the guardians of compassion and communication with patients - how wrong I was.

"It's not just about policies and training, it's about culture, supervision and leadership, and something got lost on the way", she told the board.

Despite her experience, she said that she did not believe the problems were "endemic" in UHBW's hospitals and that the medical staff were much more compassionate than the nurses.

Weston Hospital executive managing director, Paula Clarke, praised Lindsey's courage of speaking up.

She said: "It's going to be a journey of continuous improvement - it's not a quick fix.

"We've got to have the leadership in place, with the right values sitting under that leadership."

Eugine Yafele, the chief executive of UHBW said: "Sometimes it's not about the lengthy action plans or the elaborate training, it's just going back to basics and people being compassionate and listening to patients."

A report to the board said action had since been taken to improve staff skills, knowledge and practice, including unannounced visits by the ward sister.

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