Published: Wednesday, 17th June, 2009 2:47pm

Our mum's death was degrading

by Lynda Collins

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Family never told patient had killer superbug

A FURIOUS son and daughter have spoken out about the 'disgusting' standard of care which has scarred their memories due to their mum"s 'undignified' death.

Several aspects of the last days of 89-year-old Edith Gilmour"s long life have infuriated son Billy and daughter, also Edith.

But the extent of the questionable treatment only became apparent when, after reading her death certificate, they found out a contributing cause of her death had been superbug C-diff.

Neither Edith snr nor her family were informed of the C-diff infection, which was picked up in the hospital, and her relatives believe she could have been suffering from it for at least a week before she lost her life.

Hospital chiefs this week confirmed that Edith had not been tested for the bug for more than two weeks prior her death in Gartnavel, where she had been a patient for almost four weeks.

According to her records, the day she died she tested positive for the killer virus, but even then nobody informed the family or the patient, they claim.

When Edith passed away later that day, the news was broken to her son Billy and daughter, also Edith, by a nurse turning to them 'coldly' and saying: 'She"s dead,' after taking her pulse.

Billy and daughter Edith"s shock was compounded when within 15 minutes of being informed of the death, the room in Gartnavel Hospital, where she had been treated, was cleared out and they were handed two plastic bags of her soiled clothes.

This is despite the fact that she died with the highly infectious superbug which had contaminated the clothing.

Last year such practices contributed to the killer bug spreading throughout the Vale of Leven Hospital during an outbreak infecting 55 people and resulting in 18 deaths.

Since the Vale tragedy strict infection control measures should be followed with C-diff patients, including isolating them.

Edith"s family say this never happened.

After his mother"s funeral, which was on Friday, Billy, who lives in Hardgate, said: 'She was such a strong independent woman, to see her die like that without any dignity is an absolute disgrace.

'As each day passes since her funeral, we as a family feel more and more angry at what was allowed to happen to her, and we feel something must be done to prevent this from happening again.

'It has got harder and harder to deal with her death, but we feel through doing this we will rise above it

'Her health deteriorated so rapidly in the last few days of her life, which was hard enough to take, but to be treated the way we were on top of that was completely unacceptable. Speaking out will not bring her back, but what happened to my mum is too important to go unnoticed.'

According to her death certificate Edith died primarily of a heart attack on June 4, but C-diff is listed as a serious contributory factor.

She died on June 4 and the last time she had been tested for C-diff before this day was May 17.

The family say that she had since shown symptoms of the bug, including diarrhoea and abdominal pain, but a health board spokeswoman insists she was not tested until June 4 as there were no signs of C-diff.

Billy added: 'We were never told my mother had C-diff - she wasn"t even told.

'She had a urinary infection and we thought the pain she had in her abdomen, which she had been complaining about for more than a week, was because of that - but I realise now that the symptoms she had were indicative of C-diff.

'She also had a fever and diarrhoea - all symptoms of C-diff, and she was suffering from them for more than a week before she died.'

Edith, who lived on Montrose Street, Drumry, had been admitted to the Western Infirmary after a fall on May 9.

She was transferred from there to Ward 8B in Gartnavel two days later, where she remained until shortly before her death.

Daughter Edith Maclachan, said: 'We picked up a leaflet at the hospital that said that when your loved one dies, you will be taken aside by a doctor, who will offer their condolences, and inform you of their passing.

'But this was not done in our case. A young nurse came and checked her pulse, turned round and said to me and my brother - "She"s dead".

'It was so cold, and the way they cleared up all her clothes and handed them to us fifteen minutes later was horrible. We were never spoken to by any doctor at any point after my mum died.'

Edith"s funeral took place on Friday, following a procession from her home in Montrose Street.