'Truly terrible' – Hospital trust apologises to devastated husband over standard of care provided to late wife

Mrs Harris, who had dementia, had suffered a number of infections which led to her developing sepsis, requiring treatment at the hospital.

Mr Harris, who ran Oswestry's Regal cinema for many years, said they had been shocked at the lack of basic care and kindness shown to his wife, detailing a number of significant issues over her treatment, adding: "This should never happen to anyone."

He explained that Mrs Harris, who was 79 when she died, had been listed as 'nil by mouth'.

But the status meant that she went two days without anything to drink from staff, leading to her developing mouth ulcers, and leaving her unable to eat or drink properly when she was returned to a care home.

Mr Harris said that the family had found Mrs Harris, thirsty and starving, describing her as "absolutely ravishing".

He added that when Mrs Harris was able to eat she was left lying down in the bed, unable to reach the food or drink placed in front of her.

He said: "They would put the food and drink on the table but because she was halfway down in the bed she was that exhausted she could not reach the stuff to eat or drink.

"Then when we went in we started to give her food and drink and she was absolutely ravishing. She could not get enough."

Another incident saw Mrs Harris found sat on her bed in the ward by a family member with no clothes on and faeces on her body.

He said that a nurse had also shouted at his wife, telling her to stand up when she was unable to.

He said: "They came in to wake her up, put clean clothes on her and this nurse was shouting at her because she could not stand up – probably because she was so weak because of the sepsis."

He added: "My daughter was telling her 'she can't, she's too weak'."

The Shropshire Star has seen letters to Mr Harris apologising, saying the ward sister had addressed the issues with the staff as a result of the complaint.

Mr Harris said he was still shocked at the lack of care his wife had experienced.

He said: "This is basic nursing and it should not happen to anyone. People want proper training in what they need to do."

Mr Harris said he was upset at the "lack of respect" and "dignity"offered to his wife.

The couple had been married for 62 and a half years, and have two children.

He added: "In my mind it should never have happened. This is why I am trying to do something to make people aware of what dementia can do and different sorts of dementia, and the way they should be treated – caring, being looked after properly, fed properly, kept clean and tidy, it is a combination of things and you know, for trained nurses they should know most of this."

Following Mr Harris' meeting with the trust, he was also asked to record a video for use in training dementia staff, outlining his family's experience.

Hayley Flavell, Director of Nursing at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, offered an apology over the standard of care, and said they had spoken to Mr Harris about the actions taken to improve.

She said: “We are sorry as we recognise there were failings in Mrs Harris’s care. I met Mr Harris along with colleagues and we spoke at length about his wife’s care and the action we are now taking.

“Mr Harris kindly offered to work with us to share his experience as a carer and filming took place last week. His wife’s story will be used in staff training to help us to improve the quality of care that we provide."