Joanna Slater chronicles her mother Kay’s agonising six-month decline after a routine hip op – at the hands of an NHS where many have simply forgotten how to care…
A devastating report last week revealed hundreds of elderly patients are dying of dehydration on NHS hospital wards. The Care Quality Commission also found patients were malnourished and frequently complained they were spoken to in a ‘condescending and dismissive’ manner. The news came as no surprise to Joanna Slater. When her otherwise fit and healthy 84-year-old mother Kay Klein was admitted to hospital for a routine hip operation in July 2007, everyone assumed she would be out in a matter of weeks. In fact, she would die in that same hospital – which we cannot name for legal reasons – six months later.
Convinced that her mother was receiving inadequate care, Joanna decided to keep a diary detailing every moment of her hospital stay
Click on the link to read extracts of my story
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS 