Basingstoke hospital launches investigation into claims of 'poor care'

Marcel Capello, from Basingstoke, has complained to Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) following his experience at Basingstoke hospital in May, where he claims to have witnessed a patient fall out of bed; filthy toilets with excrement on the floor; and urine bottles left lying around. 

The 56-year-old has since been told by the trust’s chief executive, Alex Whitfield, that it has launched an investigation into his complaint and she has apologised for his experience. 

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Mr Capello, who used to work in the motor trade but is now retired for medical reasons, visited the emergency department at the Aldermaston Road hospital on May 28 suffering with symptoms of a blood clot following a partial knee replacement at the Hampshire Clinic five days earlier.

He had an ECG and claimed the doctor “downplayed my symptoms” and was “leaning towards sending me home with some medication, and a promise of a CT scan within seven days”.

However, with a family history of blood clots, including his sister who died of one, Mr Capello refused to leave and insisted on a CT scan.

He eventually received one at 3pm – four hours after attending A&E – and was informed he did have a 5mm blood clot in his lungs.

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He was later fitted with a heart monitor and admitted to hospital.

However, Mr Capello has complained about his experience in hospital, including the way he was cared for, saying he had to repeatedly ask for ice packs for his leg and medication.

The following day he was relocated to a different ward where he said porters took his heart monitor off and he was not fitted with another one.

“I queried it but I was told that it was not required. I insisted that it was required by other wards up to that point; I do have a heart condition (aortic valve leaking), and I still had the blood clot,” he said.

He claims hospital staff told him the beeping of the monitor would inconvenience other patients and that regular checks would be carried out instead.

But he said that after two hours on the ward “nobody had even bothered to take my temperature let alone blood pressure”.

Mr Capello said a heart monitor was eventually fitted after he threatened to complain. He also claims to have witnessed staff ignoring the cries of an elderly, frail patient who he said eventually wet his bed.

“All this happened while four individuals in scrubs were standing around at the nurse’s station, chatting and laughing,” he claims.

In his complaint to the trust, Mr Capello also detailed witnessing a patient fall out of bed; discovering filthy toilets with excrement on the floor; and urine bottles being left lying around.

While his experience was mostly negative, Mr Capello did praise some individual staff who he described as “committed and caring”.

He said his experience is a “shocking indictment of the NHS in the UK”.

Ms Whitfield responded to his complaint to apologise for his “poor experience” and said it is “not at all what we would want for any of our patients”.

She promised an investigation into the issues raised.

In a statement sent to the Gazette, Ms Whitfield said: “Whilst we are unable to comment on individual patient experiences, we strive to provide the best possible care to the hundreds of patients in our hospitals every day, and we are sorry that we don’t always meet our own high standards.

“I am very grateful to anyone who takes the time to let us know about their experiences so that we can improve.

"In each case, issues raised are closely investigated as part of our complaints process. We use the feedback to improve the situation for the specific patient, and also to take any learnings to share across our teams and improve care for other patients. Feedback is incredibly useful to us in improving care for all patients.”