Family complain over hospital’s ‘zero contact’

Fran Dobson during her 14 week stay at Boston Pilgrim hospital

A woman's family said they "had almost 100 days without a phone call" from hospital staff, even after she fell on a ward and needed a brain scan.

Fran Dobson fell after admission to Boston Pilgrim Hospital, fracturing her hip, and spent 14 weeks on the orthopaedic ward.

Her family said they were not contacted about Ms Dobson having a second fall, the loss of her £2,000 hearing aid, or plans to discharge her to a care home.

United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (ULTH) said it was unable to comment on individual cases, and apologised to Ms Dobson’s family who "feel their experiences have not met the high standards we expect".

Fran Dobson lived independently before she fell ill

Ms Dobson, 72, was taken to hospital on 8 June after experiencing delirium and her family said she waited in A&E for more than 24 hours before she was admitted.

Her son-in-law Paul White said from that point, communication was "non-existent".

"We didn't feel like we really knew what was going on at any stage following the initial [hip] surgery.

"Depending on who answered the phone, if they could answer the phone, sometimes it would just ring out, you would get limited information.

"We frequently asked for more details or to speak to the doctor. We were usually told to ring back the next day."

Mr White said the family were not contacted, even after his mother-in-law fell out of a chair on the ward and hit her head.

"I only found out when I phoned the following day about something else, only to be told she'd just come back from a CT scan."

Paul White says his family were frustrated by the lack of calls from the hospital

Ms Dobson has 20% hearing in one ear and uses a hearing aid, but Mr White said the family were not told when her £2,000 device was lost.

"A family member visited and noticed it wasn't there."

He said the family had to push for Ms Dobson to be referred to neurology, to investigate changes in her personality and suspected dementia, and to be told the results of the assessment.

Ms Dobson was unable to return to her bungalow in Skegness, where she had lived alone, and was discharged to a care home on 14 September.

Mr White said the family were "pretty horrified" to find out the initial plans had been made without consulting them.

"We found out some of this information just by staff on the ward telling people who visited Fran that day."

He said they now needed to find an alternative home, because the current one was unable to cater for Ms Dobson's needs.

Mr White said: "Had the care home known the full extent of Fran's needs and behaviours in the hospital, they would have said from the start we can't take her here."

'Utter nonsense'

Mr White said his family were frustrated to read a BBC article in which ULH said it had been nominated for an award for a scheme in which hospital staff call a dedicated contact from a patient's family on a daily basis.

He said: "This is utter nonsense. In almost 100 days we received zero calls. Not after the second fall, not after a neurology consultant visit, nor after a psychiatrist evaluation.

"I wouldn't want people spending their time phoning us every day when there's nothing much to say, but there were a number of times while Fran was there when things happened which you definitely would need to know about."

In a statement, ULH said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases, but are sorry to Ms Dobson’s family that they feel their experiences have not met the high standards we expect.

“We will continue to speak to the family about their concerns as appropriate.”

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