Because a woman was not very happy regarding the level of care that some nurses were providing her elderly mother, she decided to hire private carers to work undercover and have them look after her mother.
Annette Townend, who acted out of desperation, shelled out £1,000 to hire private carers to provide her mother, who is 82 years of age, the attention which she felt that staff nurses at Bradford Royal Infirmary were not giving the elder woman.
The liver as well as kidneys of Sheila Smith were failing for the reason that she had not been drinking or eating, and nurses, who are overworked, at the hospital were not able to have time to devote to her.
After being advised by a doctor that her mother could be dead within a couple of days “if something was not done”, Mrs. Townend, 55 years of age, employed the carers and instructed them to act as if they were friends or relatives.
Dressed in regular outfits, the carers served two-hour blocks for three times a day all in nine days, feeding Mrs. Smith and sitting with her, offering her with fluids, ushering her to the toilet, maintaining companionship with her, and chatting with her so as to maintain her spirits up.
The one-on-one attention was effective. With the help of the carers, and the assistance of a fluid drip which was hooked up by the doctor, Mrs. Smith achieved an astonishing improvement and was healthy enough later, in a matter of three weeks. She was then finally able to go back home.
Mrs. Townend has made statements to draw attention to NHS failings. She said she is sure that her mother would have lost her life had the cares not been around and took care of her.
She further continued on to say that she has always voted Conservative and she is concerned that David Cameron appears to believe that the NHS trusts are faring all right. He should learn the truth, she said. From what she saw, the old ones are receiving terrible treatment. If there is no friend or relative to come and help take care after them, they hold no chance.
Mrs. Townend herself was not able to help take care of her mother due to the fact that she has terminal bowel cancer. In an irony, she herself had been a patient of the said hospital back in August when the carers were hired. She was receiving chemotherapy and was not able to devote time for her mother to avoid risks of infection.
A spokesman for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust stated that they are sorry to know of the concerns of Mrs. Townend with regards to the care of her mother.
The spokesman went on to say that they establish high standards for themselves and aspire to get the treatment and care for each patient correctly, and that in most cases they usually do.
