Banbury patient describes her Horton A&E treatment as an 'utter disgrace'

In a formal complaint to the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (OUH) the woman said the conduct of some nurses on the night shift when she visited was ‘dangerously incompetent, disempowering and disrespectful to patients’ and ‘a disgrace to the profession’.

The former nursing sister is an asthmatic who went to A&E with a serious allergic response which had caused a rash and swelling to face, neck, body and arms. She questioned the standard of care and said the behaviour of some of the nurses concerned was ‘not fit for purpose’.

“The unit appeared and conducted itself in neglectful, disrespectful, disempowering and undisciplined manner. After a 30-minute wait my observations were done but were not repeated all night.

"My history was written down on a hand towel. I asked what blood tests had been ordered but (the nurse) snapped at me. I explained I was a former nursing sister but my request was ignored.

"I was asked to leave my trolley to sit in the corridor on a chair facing the resuscitation unit. It felt like a punishment. I did not feel safe. I was left feeling alone, exposed and unwell. They were not run off their feet. They had time to care.

“No one checked on me. I was left opposite Resus for over an hour. No observations were done, nothing to check I was not deteriorating.

The patient, who wishes to remain anonymous, added: “At about 2.15am was told by the senior nurse to move to another chair. She walked me through to ‘minors’ to sit among a group of males. I asked if I could have my husband (with me), I was told dismissively to go to the waiting room.”

At around 5am she saw one of the nurses retiring to an empty GP treatment room with a blanket and locking the door behind her.

"I never received any observations of my condition other than the first time, at just gone midnight. I never received any medication to control my very clear allergic reaction. No one even bothered to check me. I had to return to my GP 24 hours later in a much worse state. I could barely open my eyes through the inflammation,” she said. “My fabulous GP has thankfully got me on appropriate treatment.”

The woman’s complaint included other incidents which we cannot report because of patient confidentiality.

However she accused the OUH of harbouring ‘a very toxic and dangerous culture’ and lacking in sufficient, competent management and leadership. She said CCTV would confirm her complaints.

In her complaint she wrote: "The town has really supported you in the past but they have a right to know what is going on behind closed doors. This must not be allowed to continue.”

An OUH spokesperson said: “Providing safe, high quality patient care is of paramount importance to us. The account has been raised with us as a complaint and we are currently in the process of investigating this with the clinical lead. The complaints team will be in contact with (the patient) directly.”