Woman speaks out about late husband's treatment at Wolverhampton hospital
'If speaking about what we went through has helped one family then it will be worth it.'
Linda Aitchison lost her beloved husband Neil two years ago.
He died at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton at the age of 44 from malignant melanoma, six months after being told he had three months to live.
But it was his alleged treatment while at the hospital which caused Mrs Aitchison, from Cheslyn Hay, to speak out.
She says her husband's Kindle was stolen from his bedside, and claims there were rows between workers over his care and that he was refused a shower, suffered a fall as well and was left in a bed with food around his face.
Mr Aitchison died on May 13, 2012, and New Cross Hospital issued an apology after investigating complaints from Mrs Aitchison which ran for five pages. She is a director of The Marketing Room in Cannock andsays his death hit her hard.
She said: "One thing that Neil said to me and the girls (Melissa and Emily) was he didn't want us to be victims. But after he died I found it difficult, I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and I couldn't get the image of how he was treated out of my head. I was seeing how others were dealing with problems with such bravery, like Stephen Sutton, and I'd ask 'why am I not there yet?'"
Following his death, Mrs Aitchison went out to South Africa where she worked with orphaned children.
Closer to home, she said she was given 'fantastic support' from St Giles Hospice near Lichfield and Compton Hospice in Wolverhampton. She also began a blog where she shared her thoughts. She added: " There are people telling me they how their loved ones had similar experiences in hospital in other parts of the country. They congratulated me on being strong.
"If speaking about what we went through has helped one family avoid the agony of seeing their loved one treated with such a lack of compassion then it will be worth it."
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs New Cross Hospital, said it wrote to Mrs Aitchison to apologise.
Health bosses say action taken includes additional training for nurses treating patients with a life-limiting illness, protocols to prevent a re-occurance or issues relating to rehydration, the implementation of scheduled comfort rounds on wards to ensure regular contact between nursing staff and patients and sharing Mrs Aitchison's complaints with staff around the trust.
