Mum accuses hospital of 'worst possible care' after being left soaking in vomit and urine

The hospital has apologised

A woman who suffers from a rare form of epilepsy has accused the Royal Cornwall Hospital of providing her with the worst possible care, vowing never to return. Lizzie Elsey criticised the hospital staff for leaving her covered in vomit and blood, and soaked in her own urine after being admitted to the resuscitation ward.

She was initially admitted to the hospital in December 2023 for status epilepticus, a type of seizure that lasts longer than five minutes or involves more than one seizure with loss of consciousness between episodes. However, on July 2, while watching her son's cricket practice, she began having seizures.

Despite her partner administering anti-seizure medication, it failed to work and paramedics were unable to find a vein to administer new medication. Consequently, the 28 year old was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, Truro, in such a poor state that she was admitted to the resuscitation department, CornwallLive reports.

Lizzie said that while she could not open her eyes, her arm rose up under the pain but believes the squeezing of her shoulder continued even though she was in pain and showed her. The St Austell mum said as epilepsy can lead people to lose control of their bodily functions, she ended up being covered in vomit and had also been left with an incontinence pad full of urine that was not cleaned away.

In a letter to the hospital which she shared with CornwallLive the young mum, said: "I was literally left to it. I was vomiting with each seizure, my mouth, face, neck, pyjamas and the trolley was covered in vomit which told me they were not even attending to my seizures, how I did not aspirate is extremely lucky.

"My incontinence pad was so full of urine that my pyjamas and trolley were soaking. My right arm was covered in blood from where they cannulated me and didn't bother cleaning it up."

She added: "After countless seizures and nothing being done, I got up in my disoriented state and tried to leave, because my mindset was, 'I'm safer at home with my partner who would not leave me in this state, nor would he leave me unattended whilst having a seizure'. I didn’t think about the logistics on how I would get home because as I said, I was disorientated.

"I have Todd's Paresis affecting my left arm and leg, so I was completely paralysed down my left side causing me to hop with my right leg whilst grabbing stuff with my right hand to support myself, my left foot was dragging along the floor."

Lizzie was eventually taken back to her bed in the resuscitation room where she said the three nurses were just chatting about their holidays and anything else. She added: "When I said to them they were neglecting the other patient who was located opposite me and had been asleep for a while but suddenly woke up saying she felt alone, one of the female nurses' response was to roll her eyes, walk over to the patient’s bay, shut the patient’s curtain and walk back, smirking at the other two nurses whilst saying 'you are not alone, we are right here'. Then she sat back down and carried on chatting. I was absolutely shocked and disgusted to witness this. It was as if her response was, 'out of sight, out of mind'."

Lizzie was eventually moved out of resus to a major ward. She managed to grab a few hours' sleep and in the morning, after being cleaned and changed into fresh clothes by a day-shift female nurse, she was able to go home with her partner and their son.

In her letter she added: "To top this experience off, I read the discharge summary, which said that I am 'known for non-epileptic attack disorder'. I don’t know if this is why I never get taken seriously, but I am not known for non-epileptic attack disorder, I have a diagnosis of epilepsy. That is why I am on anti-epileptic drugs.

"Maybe the fact I am 'known for non-epileptic attack disorder' on your system and only your system despite my diagnosis is why I received so little care on my last admission. Or is it because I have previously been misdiagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD)? I haven’t had that diagnosis since February 2021 when it got changed to complex-post traumatic disorder because I do not meet the criteria for BPD and never did, and because I have had a very traumatic life. Is this why your doctors like to misdiagnose me and class my physical symptoms actually related to epilepsy, as psychological conditions?"

Lizzie has vowed never to go to Treliske again should she suffer from epileptic seizures of that magnitude. She added: "This is disgustingly not a one-off experience for me at Royal Cornwall Hospital. I have had many experiences of neglect and medical malpractice to the stage now where my partner and I have absolutely no faith in this hospital.

"We have decided that from now on if paramedics say I must go to hospital, then we will not be going to Treliske. Despite Derriford being further away from home, my partner will insist that if I need to go, I will only go to Derriford.

"If this is not an option, it is terrifying to say that me and my partner would feel much safer if I was at home being watched by him than at your hospital despite the risk of having no oxygen support, at least I know that whilst I’m having a seizure I’ll be watched. I won’t wake up with vomit down my face from where no one has even checked me."

See below for the hospital trust's response to Lizzie

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, which manages Treliske as well as West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance and St Michael's Hospital in Hayle, launched an investigation into the claims made by Lizzie about the care she received that day in July. The trust has partially upheld some of her complaints and apologised, saying it would review its procedures so it improves on the care it provides patients.

The letter dated September 11, that Lizzie received from the patients experience team and shared with us, tries to answer the points she made to the hospital about the care she received.

The trust said it had been a very busy time of night when Lizzie was admitted into Treliske with the average wait to be seen during that time being in excess of five hours for the majority of patients. It said Lizzie was transferred to resus almost straight away so closer observations could be made and while Lizzie suffered from two seizures while in hospital they self-regulated and no medical intervention was required.

About being left in soiled beddings, the trust apologised but said the ward had already been overcrowded, adding: "We are sincerely sorry that you were left in soiled bedding, clothing and vomit; this is not the standard of nursing care that the department strives to provide to our patients.

"At the time of your arrival into the department, there were already over 100 patients booked in; this is more than double the capacity of the department, which is resourced to care for 45 patients. Unfortunately, such overcrowding inherently leads to delays in basic nursing care, as the staff are stretched very thinly. We apologise that this was your experience, and will ensure that your experience and the basic needs of our patients, are highlighted in the department’s safety brief."

The trust also said there had been some miscommunication with Lizzie's partner involving a member of staff in a different part of the hospital. RCHT also said it is perfectly normal for staff in resus to have a rest when "the acute phase of treatment has passed".

In their letter to Lizzie, the hospital said: "The resus area of the department, by its nature, can be a busy place when patients requiring urgent life or limb saving care are immediately attended to by multiple team members.

"Once the acute phase of treatment has passed, patients are stepped down into other areas within the department that can meet their ongoing needs as appropriate. When patients are delayed being transferred out of Resus due to a lack of space in the rest of the department, there is little else in respect of acute care required, other than monitoring patients and staff sometimes take this opportunity to rest or take a break from direct patient."

The trust also apologised for some of the care Lizzie received which may not have been up to standards expected especially with regards to transferring her from a trolley to a bed, changing her soiled clothes quickly enough or giving her fluids. The trust also said that Lizzie's medical notes did not include a formal diagnosis of epilepsy but said her records would be updated.

It added: "We want to apologise for the distress and anxiety caused to you and your family and thank you for bringing these matters to our attention."

A spokesperson for RCHT said: "We would like to sincerely apologise to Lizzie Elsey and her family, following her admission to the emergency department in July and are sorry for her poor experience. We have carried out a detailed review, which identified there were aspects of Lizzie’s care that should have been better. We have shared this fully with Lizzie and are using what we have learned to make improvements."

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