Family's complaint to Wigan hospital over treatment of 89-year-old man

The family of Mr Erlam, from Poolstock, say his condition has deteriorated rapidly over several months which has seen him in and out of hospital.

They say Mr Erlam has been placed on wards which also have Covid-19 patients on them numerous times during his stays at Wigan Infirmary.

To make matters worse, they claim doctors did not even tell them that he had finally contracted the coronavirus, with the news coming out of the blue when track and trace workers got in touch with Mr Erlam’s granddaughter.

The family says it has lodged numerous complaints about the treatment given to Mr Erlam by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh (WWL) NHS Foundation Trust, which has confirmed it is investigating the matter.

Currently, though, Mr Erlam’s relatives are fearing for him due to his positive test result and are demanding to know how the Trust failed to shield him, given his age and the fact he suffers from aspiration pneumonia, from Covid-19.

His daughter Janet Erlam said: “I’m just so angry. We’ve been concerned the entire time he has been in there. My mum is now in such a dreadful state, it has broken her heart.

“I would have expected them to have been taking care of him, especially knowing he had aspiration pneumonia.

“He has been repeatedly placed with Covid-positive patients on several different wards despite us complaining and saying we wanted him moved.

“Now he has contracted Covid-19 within the hospital walls.

“What are they doing putting an 89-year-old man with aspiration pneumonia in a situation like that?

“They have Bryn Ward as the Covid ward so why are Covid-positive patients not on there? They are all over the hospital.

“Getting the call from track and trace, not the hospital, to tell us dad had Covid is the final straw for us.

“When he went into hospital he could walk but now he can’t. He looks like a skeleton, he has lost so much weight.

“Whatever happens now it feels like I’ve lost my dad. I can’t believe the hell we have been put through.”

Mr Erlam’s family say he went into hospital in late June after suffering a great deal of pain at home which caused his worried wife Phyllis to ring for an ambulance.

He returned to Wigan Infirmary around three weeks ago after he started to become concerningly ill again.

His family have listed a catalogue of complaints and allegations against the hospital covering the two visits, ranging from him not being properly dressed to being given a cocktail of drugs which should not have been combined and which caused him to be knocked out for 24 hours.

The ordeal has also taken its toll on the whole family, with Mr and Mrs Erlam having to mark their wedding anniversary apart for the first time in 64 years in July and relatives not being able to visit as much as usual due to the coronavirus regulations.

Janet says she has also contacted Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, NHS advocates and medical charities about her father’s case.

WWL has confirmed it has launched a comprehensive probe into the family’s complaints.

A spokesperson for the hospital trust said: “WWL always welcomes feedback from those who have experienced the use of our services.

“All complaints provide us with an opportunity to review and improve and we encourage all our patients, their relatives or their carers to provide us with feedback about their experiences or on areas we need to improve.

“When a complaint is made, it is always reviewed by our Patient Relations Team who monitor the progress of any investigation.

“A full review into the care given to Mr Erlam is currently underway, therefore, at this time, the Trust is unable to comment further on individual cases.”