02/12/2010

Dr Frank Harsent, Chief Executive of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said:

“We were very sorry to read about the experiences of Mrs Davis whilst in our care last year, and offer our sincere condolences to her family.

“Some of these concerns were raised in a letter to the Trust written by Mrs Davis’ daughter earlier this year, to which we responded, offering to investigate them fully. The full details including Mrs Davis’ name were not provided, which meant that the Trust was unable to move forward with an investigation at that time.

“However, the general areas of concern raised by Mrs Davis’ daughter have influenced improvements in services on surgical wards and informed our patient experience strategy.

“The Trust values the report from the Patients Association and will always endeavour to make sure that we learn from experiences. We take issues such as these very seriously and investigate them thoroughly when they are raised with us.

“We have been in touch with Mrs Davis family and will be meeting with them in January.

“Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has a generally good record of providing high quality care and we do take these experiences very seriously.

“The Trust is committed to protecting the dignity and safety of patients, and involving families in the care of their patients. When issues are raised and investigated we ensure that staff learn from them and that we change our ways of working where this is necessary.”