THIS is the heartbreaking final picture of a woman with a broken hip and Covid lying on a hospital floor days before she died.
Maureen Paterson, 78, was taken to University Hospital Wishaw in North Lanarkshire, Scotland on December 16.
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Mr Paterson's daughter Lynn Barrie said her mum was in a "terrible state" in hospital on January 1.
Doctors later found out that her stoma bag had "broken several times".
Later that month Mrs Paterson caught Covid, and on January 28 her family called her to check up on her and found out she had broken her hip after a fall.
She died on Thursday last week.
Lynn has made a complaint to NHS Lanarkshire over "gross incompetence" after her mum's death.
Lynn said: "She contracted Covid which is understandable considering what is going on at the moment. She was then moved to a single room in the Covid ward.
"Again we warned the staff that she is very frail, unsteady on her feet, and at a serious risk of falling. We were only informed she had broken her hip when we called the hospital for an update.
"One family member had been told it happened at one particular time and we were told a different time which leads me to believe they have no idea when she had taken a fall and how long she was lying there."
SHOCKING SIGHT
Lynn said she was shocked to see her mum lying on a mattress on the floor.
"I couldn't believe it that she hadn't even been put into a bed," she said.
"There was no means for mum to go to the toilet as she had no catheter or a urinary pad. We were advised by the staff they were intending on using a bedpan on mum whilst her hip was broken."
Lynn claims doctors told her that her mum needed surgery to repair her hip or she would die – but that the procedure was risky.
On February 1, Mrs Paterson's family was told that she was near death, and four days later she passed away.
Lynn said the family were left "absolutely devastated" after her mum's death.
"I wouldn't want any family having to go through this. This is gross incompetence as far as I'm concerned. We gave the staff several warnings about this and now it's happened.
"We are well aware of the great nurses and staff at Wishaw that go above and beyond for their patients but in this instance the staff have failed in their duty of care to my mum."
Chief nurse at the hospital Anne Leitch said she wanted to "convey our deepest sympathy to the family and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult time".
She said: "We aim to provide the highest standard of care to all our patients and we regret any instance where someone feels we have not met this standard.
"We can confirm that NHS Lanarkshire is managing a complaint through our formal complaints process and we will respond directly to the family. We therefore cannot make further comment at this time."
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