Royal Surrey response to Patients Association Report

The staff on Hindhead stroke and neurology unit where this patient was cared for are very disappointed and upset by this account of her treatment.  This does not at all reflect the record we have of her stay on our specialist stroke ward and, in fact, we received a number of thank you letters and cards from the family who were extremely grateful for the care we provided for their mother over a very lengthy period of time.

Treating patients with a severe brain injury like this patient is very complex not only because of their medical problems, but also because the behaviour of these patients can be very unpredictable and challenging.  However, she did receive one to one nursing care and the ward sister and clinical team devoted a great deal of time to supporting the family through the lengthy and difficult inpatient period.  They were also instrumental in ensuring that the patient was placed in an appropriate community facility that would be able to provide the level of care she requires. 

We would be very happy to meet with the family to try and resolve any issues and always do our utmost to deal with any problems while patients are being treated at the Trust.

Mrs Goddard was primarily an East Surrey Hospital patient and came to the Royal Surrey for emergency radiation treatment.  A pressure relieving mattress was not used initially because of concerns around Mrs Goddard's cord compression, but was provided once the team caring for her deemed it to be appropriate and safe.

Mrs Goddard's case has already been thoroughly investigated by the team who was responsible for her treatment and records show that the correct nursing care was given for pressure sores and there is no evidence that she was not kept as clean as possible.

We would like to express our condolences to the family and reassure them that we did all we could at the time Mrs Goddard was a patient at the Royal Surrey.