The daughter of a Borehamwood woman who died of lung cancer this week accused Barnet Hospital of failing to take proper care of her during her stay.

Audrey Churchill claims hospital staff failed to make the necessary medication available to her mother, and kept her waiting three weeks for test results.

Barnet Hospital was heavily criticised in a Government review document, published in September, which listed it as the worst performing hospital in London.

This week Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust pledged to contact Miss Churchill and investigate her concerns regarding her 55-year-old mother's stay.

But Miss Churchill, of Borehamwood, said: "I am absolutely appalled with the treatment my mother received it is down to laziness and bad management."

Marie Churchill, of Ely Gardens, visited her GP on several occasions, starting in April this year, complaining of a persistent cough and aching ribs.

Eventually she was offered an appointment for a blood test at Barnet Hospital, but she was still waiting for the results three weeks after her visit.

Mrs Churchill contacted the hospital and was told the doctor had yet to sign off the results. When they did arrive, through her GP, she was informed that they were normal.

Mrs Churchill remained at home until she admitted herself to Barnet Hospital on September 19, at which point an x-ray showed she had advanced lung cancer.

Miss Churchill said that once, at the hospital, her mother's medication was left out of her reach, on a bedside table, overnight.

Her mother told her that, on another occasion, nurses had been unable to give her a pain-killing drug because they did not have keys to a medicine cabinet.

On her discharge, Mrs Churchill said she was promised an appointment to remove some stitches within seven days. The hospital later told her it did not remove stitches.

Mrs Churchill was re-admitted to Barnet Hospital on October 21 for a major operation, and her daughter then asked to be contacted if her condition deteriorated.

Despite being told that her mother would take hours or days to die, Miss Churchill claims she did not receive a phone call until seven minutes before her death.

Miss Churchill, who reached the hospital only to find her mother had already died, is now preparing to make a formal complaint against Barnet Hospital.

A hospital spokesperson said: "The trust takes the issues raised by Audrey Churchill concerning the care her mother received at Barnet Hospital very seriously.

"Now that the trust is aware of her concerns it will be contacting Audrey Churchill and investigating the issues raised in full."

November 7, 2001 13:56

By MARK FOY