SIBLINGS who lost their mother to a ward virus contracted at Stafford Hospital are ‘delighted’ with the findings of the public inquiry into its failings.
Amy May James died between Christmas and New Year 2005 after being admitted for severe stomach pains and vomiting.
With no formal diagnosis given, the 95-year-old arthritis sufferer contracted C-Diff while in a unit to improve her mobility before being discharged.
Her son and daughter, John James and Margaret Folkes, struggled to get a doctor to visit her ward, even when one was paged by hospital staff.
They were not informed of her death until several hours she passed and did not know about the C-Diff contraction until a year later when they read her medical notes.
Mr James and Mrs Folkes visited Stafford’s Civic Centre as Robert Francis QC, who chaired the inquiry, addressed Stafford families about his findings.
Mrs Folkes said: “She died at around 3am but we were not informed until around 10am, so we missed her final few hours, when we could have been there to hold her hand.
“Earlier, we had requested a doctor’s presence on the Friday and one didn’t arrive on the ward until the Sunday.
“The care my mother received was poor but this inquiry isn’t just about Stafford – these are issues that need to be addressed across the NHS.”
Mr James said: “We sat on the focus group and have tried to do everything we can to help the hospital avoid things like this happening again.
“We desperately don’t want it to close but are delighted with the findings of the inquiry.
“The government now needs to implement all of the recommendations or it’s been a huge waste of time and money.”
