Sep 29 2008

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A FORMER nurse whose elderly husband died after contracting MRSA at a Midland hospital has attacked the “shameful” hygiene standards on NHS wards.

Ina Gordon, 79, from Kingshurst, Birmingham, lost husband Alpheus, 74, when he picked up the killer superbug at Heartlands Hospital following a back operation last year.

Ex-nurse Ina and her daughter Susan, 38, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, launched legal action against the hospital, accusing the nursing staff of negligence.

Last week Heartlands settled out of court for a five-figure sum.

Stank

Grandmother-of-twelve Ina, who worked as a midwifery nurse at Solihull Hospital in the late 70s and 80s, claimed that her husband had been treated “like a dog” by nursing staff.

“It was so sad to see him die like that,” she said.

“I wasn’t even with him for his final breath, as the night nurse had made me leave the room so she could turn him in his bed. It broke my heart.

“The wards stank, there was muck on the floor, it was filthy. From what the standards were in my day to what they are like now, it’s terrible. He was treated like a dog.

“It was very different back when I was a nurse. The matrons were very strict, and that was good for the patients because they felt safe and well looked after.

“Every piece of equipment we used was aseptic, untouched and sterile. It wasn’t like that at Heartlands.

“When they brought in trays and dressings, there were no gloves and the nurses were putting their dirty fingers all over the equipment.

“I had to take one of the girls and teach her how to do a sterile dressing. The germs were everywhere.

“I’m not blaming the girls, I’m blaming the management because the staff are not being taught what they need to know.”

Her daughter Susan, who works as a singer, said her father faded quickly after catching the superbug.

“He was taken into Heartlands Hospital after falling at home back in January last year,” she said.

“Then he was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth for an operation on a tumour on his back. Four days after the surgery he fell ill and was tested for MRSA, but found not to have it and was then transferred back to Heartlands.

“We were told the operation had been successful and he was going back to Heartlands to prepare for his discharge home.

“After a couple of weeks there he was moved to a side room and the staff nurse told us he had MRSA. She was very flippant and told us it was nothing to worry about.

Terrible

“We would go every day to clean him, he just needed someone to make him comfortable, but the care he was given was terrible.

“His dressings were hanging off and his previous, dirty dressings were on the shelf where his personal belongings were. He was lying in his own faeces and his catheter was leaking on to his wound. The pain from the septicaemia that had set in was making him scream.

“He got taken to the intensive care unit on March 28 and died the next day. The consultant sat with us and told us the MRSA was in his bloodstream and that his body had given up.

“My dad died because of dirty wards and shameful standards of care.

“We have reported this to the Healthcare Commission which said it has sent inspectors to Heartlands.”

Sarah Huntbach, a solicitor specialising in medical negligence cases for Birmingham-based Anthony Collins Solicitors, handled the Gordon family’s case.

Last night, she said: “The family first came to see me in May 2007 just before the inquest. They were concerned as to the cause of death. We carried out some enquiries prior to the inquest to assist the family and were able to represent the family at the inquest.

“The pathologist accepted that MRSA had caused Mr Gordon’s death. As a consequence of this an early out of court settlement was achieved.”

Lisa Dunn, director at Heartlands Hospital, said: “We would like to again extend our deepest sympathy to Mr Gordon’s wife and family.

“We have undertaken a thorough investigation in light of the family’s concerns and have learnt lessons.

“Infection prevention remain a key trust priority.”

ben.goldby@sundaymercury.net