Mother was 'stuck in hell' as NHS hospital staff refused to wash her while she lay in bed with broken back
Cheryll Rich, 38, broke her back after tumbling into a canal lock last summer and was unable to move anything from the waist down.
She was sent to St Mary's Hospital in London for emergency spinal surgery before moving into Basildon University Hospital's 'notorious' Linford Ward to recover.
But while here, Ms Rich said medics 'dehumanised' her, refusing to wash her, change her heavily soiled hospital gowns, replace her water for five days or answer her desperate cries for help.
Her horrified partner, Jack Barnes, 51, was forced to clean the mess off his stricken lover himself after hospital staff 'handed him a bowl of water and told him to go do it'.
The hospital's director of nursing has since issued an apology to Ms Rich for the 'distress' and 'unacceptable' treatment she received during her nightmare five-day stay on the ward, last September.
Speaking out for the first time about her ordeal, wheelchair-bound Ms Rich told the Daily Mail: 'I felt like I wasn't a human. I felt dehumanised and demoralised. I felt the lowest point I possibly could have been.
'I was on my monthly cycle and my other half had to clean me when I was not only covered in faeces but in blood too. From the bottom of my back and up to my bum – all over my stitches and everything – it was covered in faeces.
'My catheter hadn't been changed for days; they didn't change my water jug for five days - I wasn't even worthy of water. You've gone from being physically able to absolutely helpless.
'You look at the NHS and its staff as someone there to help you. But I felt I had done something really wrong, like I was in the way, like I was a burden.... It's like I had done a really horrific crime. They treated me like a criminal.
'I felt like I was stuck in hell.'
Cheryll's nightmare started on August 8, last year. She had been helping her partner as he kayaked from Liverpool to London to raise money for Little Havens children's hospice, in Essex.
She was in a support kayak with her daughter, Misty, 12, and was opening the lock when a platform gave way and she tumbled 7ft to the ground, breaking her spine.
She was rushed to A&E in Watford before she was transferred to St Mary's for an emergency spinal operation, and after six days - which included three in intensive care - she was moved to Basildon to recover.
But here she says staff on the Linford Ward treated her with disdain, 'rolling their eyes' when she asked for help, while vaping, playing loud music, and eating takeaways in the ward at night.
She needed to be turned every two hours to prevent bedsores but she was unable to do this herself due to her injury.
However, she claimed hospital staff treated her 'roughly' when they needed to do the procedure before then leaving her to try and do it herself.
On one occasion, Ms Rich says she used a buzzer to call for help before being greeted by a male medical assistant who 'burst into the room with such an angry look'.
'I was petrified. He walked in and threw the buzzer over the back of the bed. Then he stormed off,' she said.
When Ms Rich used her phone to call the ward, she said staff laughed at her and told her they 'couldn't believe you had to ring us'.
'I felt completely humiliated and helpless,' she added.
Ms Rich claims her room had no curtain and that when she was eventually changed, it was in 'full view' of the public outside.
Speaking of how staff allegedly refused to wash her, she said: 'I was left feeling scared, unclean and desperately in need of washing. Despite expressing my concerns about body odour and the state of my hygiene, my requests were ignored.'
In a letter to the hospital - seen by the Mail - she wrote: 'My partner offered to come and help wash me. When he arrived, it became evident I had soiled myself due to the lack of care. A staff member handed him a bowl and cleaning sachet without providing proper assistance and said to him 'help yourself'.'
Ms Rich's partner Jack said he was appalled by what Cheryll had to endure, adding it left him in 'floods of tears'.
'Her dignity means something, and she lost of all that. She was covered in faeces and crying her eyes out. It was so embarrassing,' he told the Mail.
'To see her like this and not being able to do something, it was heartbreaking.'
He added: 'I had to stay strong and shield my emotions and feelings. But the emotions I felt were indescribable. I was sick, disgusted, and shocked.
'When I got home, I was in floods of tears in the living room and thought my whole life was breaking down.'
Ms Rich was later moved to the Horndon Ward, where she said staff were 'appalled' at her treatment in Linford Ward.
Jen Craft, Labour MP for Thurrock has been assisting Ms Rich and was horrified by her treatment.
'The standard of care Cheryll received is completely unacceptable. It is deeply concerning that while in pain and discomfort, her needs were ignored,' the MP told the Mail.
'I'm glad the trust has listened to her terrible experience at the hospital and rightly apologised. It's vital that there are now clear steps taken to prevent this happening again, as part of broader improvement work at Basildon Hospital.'
In a letter to Ms Rich, Emma Sweeney, director of nursing at the hospital, apologised for the 38-year-old's treatment and insisted the centre would 'learn from it'.
Ms Sweeney wrote: 'I am sorry that your requests for assistance with personal hygiene were not responded to appropriately, and that your husband had to step in to help you wash.
'It was unacceptable that staff failed to provide the necessary support and instead handed you a bowl without offering further help.
'This matter has been addressed with the team, and all staff have been reminded of the importance of delivering personal care with dignity, respect, and compassion at all times.'
However, despite her treatment, Ms Rich says no staff members have been formally punished for their actions, which she described as 'shocking'.
'Someone should be held responsible. But no-one has... I could have got sepsis. One day someone will die there,' she added.
James McMurdock, MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, said he would be writing to the hospital's chief executive 'personally' to demand answers.
He told the Mail: 'I know Basildon Hospital well. My children were born there. If my family or myself fell ill it is Basildon Hospital I would put my trust in to make us well, but this is a terribly sad account of the standards on the ward.
'Given the gravity of some of the complaints raised I am not satisfied with the statement that no staff member could be identified. That indicates a lack of control. A lack of control indicates low standards. Low standards in a hospital are unacceptable.
'It is also concerning that it took a complaint from a badly injured patient to prompt the replacement of a window blind. Not to mention accusations of vaping, mockery, and abuse.'
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust refused to say whether any staff had been reprimanded over the 'unacceptable' level of care Ms Rich received, when approached by the Mail.
In a statement, Diane Sarkar, chief nursing and quality officer at the trust, said: 'Ms Rich's care did not meet the standard we would expect and we have sincerely apologised for her experience.
'After looking into the concerns raised we have reassured her that we've spoken to the ward involved to make sure learning and actions are taken from this and addressed.'
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