Leysdown: Jim Armstrong's wife Barbara complains about his treatment at Medway Maritime Hospital
00:01, 23 February 2017
Hospital bosses have launched an investigation into the death of a pensioner after his widow found two sets of different notes with his name on.
Jim Armstrong died in Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham last month and his family have raised serious concerns about the care he received.
Barbara Armstrong, of Warden View Gardens, Leysdown, said: “Something is very wrong in that hospital. I’ll do anything to stop this from happening to anyone else.
“What my husband Jim went through was disgusting.
“At least I was able to sit with him. I feel so sorry for all those patients on their own who don’t have relatives to look out for them.”
Mr Armstrong was admitted to the hospital on December 22 with kidney stones.
The operation was a success but staff realised the pensioner, who had diabetes and dementia, was weak and dying.
Mrs Armstrong said: “Because Jim was so ill I asked if I could take him home for Christmas to die on Sheppey.”
But staff stabilised him and he was transferred to Harvey ward where she says he suffered “appalling” care.
She says she found him calling for help, caked in faeces and heavily sedated.
She was told by one doctor her husband was fit enough to have a stent removed but an urologist later said Mr Armstrong was too ill.
Her husband, she says, had seizures which were ignored by staff and on the day of his death, January 15, just before his 69th birthday, she discovered two different blood sugar charts with her husband’s name on them.
She also alleges staff gave Mr Armstrong a CT scan instead of an MRI scan.
“What my husband Jim went through was disgusting...I feel so sorry for all those patients on their own who don’t have relatives to look out for them” - Barbara Armstrong
She has now presented a dossier to hospital bosses.
Lesley Dwyer, chief executive of Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I was deeply concerned to hear Mrs Armstrong’s account of her husband’s care while he was a patient with us.
"The issues she describes are absolutely unacceptable and do not represent the care our patients receive day-to-day.
“We apologise to Mrs Armstrong for the distress she has experienced and will continue to meet her while we thoroughly and formally investigate her complaint.
“We have already taken action on a number of issues that she has raised, including additional support for the ward from our matrons to ensure patients are cared for appropriately.”