Basic care 'lacking' in hospitals
 The vast majority of patients receive good care, nurses' leaders say |
A patient lobby group is demanding an urgent review of basic hospital care after highlighting accounts of "appalling" NHS standards.
Relatives told the Patients Association how their loved ones, often elderly people, were left lying in faeces and urine and were not helped to eat.
The group's president Claire Rayner, an ex-nurse, called for "bad, cruel nurses" to be struck off.
The government said the cases were unacceptable but not representative.
The report focused on 16 stories from relatives of patients in England, which the association says are just a few of "hundreds and hundreds" of similar reports from across the UK.
It says self assessment allows too many health authorities to ignore problems that have been raised and is calling for regulator the Care Quality Commission to intervene.
Soiled bedding
The association insists accounts used in the report were reviewed critically before publication as it was aware complaints do "not necessarily reflect the reality".
But it stressed nearly all the accounts were concerned not about treatment but basic nursing and domiciliary care.
The Patients Association noted the latest inpatient survey found 43% rated the service they received as excellent, a significant increase from the previous year.
 |  It is important to note this is not representative of the picture across the NHS. The NHS treats millions of people every day and the vast majority of patients experience good quality, safe and effective care  Chris Beasley Government chief nursing officer |
But it stressed the 2% who deemed the service poor had not changed between 2002 and 2008, and that while the proportions were small they still represented thousands of patients.
Earlier this year, a report from the Healthcare Commission - now replaced by the Care Quality Commission - detailed grave lapses in standards of care at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust.
Families described "Third World" conditions, with some patients drinking water from vases and lying for hours in soiled bedding.
"Whilst Mid Staffordshire may have been an anomaly in terms of scale the Patients Association knew the kinds of appalling treatment given there could be found across the NHS," said Katherine Murphy, the association's director.
"This report removes any doubt and makes this clear to all. Two of the accounts come from Stafford, and they sadly fail to stand out from the others."
She said the stories were often about the most vulnerable elderly.
"We hope this report also encourages other people to get in touch with us and tell their stories. We plan to continue publishing accounts until we can be confident that every patient is secured dignity in their care," she continued.
| Two per cent is too many but we are concerned that this might undermine the public's confidence in the world-class care they can expect to receive from the NHS Dr Peter Carter Royal College of Nursing |
Relatives described how they found their loved ones dehydrated or lying in faeces, blood and urine, and told of problems in getting help from nurses. They also told how patients were left with sandwiches or drinks in packaging which they could not open.
Ron Kirk said his father, Leslie, was admitted to hospital in October 2007, having suffered a stroke, but that his treatment at the hands of some nurses amounted to cruelty.
His father had been fitted with the wrong catheter, leaving him in pain, but nurses took away his bedside alarm because they thought he was "pressing it too often", Mr Kirk said.
Claire Rayner said: "I am sickened by what has happened to some part of my profession of which I was so proud. These bad, cruel nurses may be - probably are - a tiny proportion of the nursing work force, but even if they are only one or two per cent of the whole they should be identified and struck off the Register."
Good 'overshadowed'
Government chief nursing officer Chris Beasley said: "All patients deserve the highest quality of care from the NHS and the poor care received in these cases is simply unacceptable."
But she said this was not representative of the picture across the NHS.
"The NHS treats millions of people every day and the vast majority of patients experience good quality, safe and effective care - the Care Quality Commission's recent patient experience survey shows 93% of patients rate their overall care as good or excellent."
The CQC said the registration system it was introducing for trusts next year would ensure they met key quality standards.
"It is absolutely right to highlight that standards of hospital care can vary from very good to poor," said chairman Barbara Young.
"Many people are happy with the care they receive, but we also know that there are problems.
"Matters related to the dignity of care are of particular concern to patients and their families.
"And poor basic nursing is a recurring theme in organisations that perform badly.
"I am in no doubt that many hospitals need to raise their game in this area."
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said it would not condone nurses who behave in ways "that are contrary to the principles and ethics of the profession".
But he added: "This report is based on the 2% of patients who feel that their care was unacceptable.
"Two per cent is too many but we are concerned that this might undermine the public's confidence in the world-class care they can expect to receive from the NHS.
"Furthermore it could also dampen the morale of the millions of staff who work tirelessly to help their patients."
