I have edited this letter, removing some of the things which we found most upsetting, out of respect for my son.

Dear Madam, 

My son, Nicolas Verron, was stabbed in the head on 4^th July in an unprovoked and senseless attack. He sustained damage to the left temporal lobe from a penetrating wound which also compromised the brain stem. He had surgery to clean the wound and remove bone fragments from the depressed fracture and suffered severe intracranial pressure and subarachnoid bleeding. He was in a coma for two weeks and was not expected to survive. TheWessex inSouthampton cared for him and after two weeks stopped all medication. My son, however, did not die and has been fighting back ever since.

He was transferred on the 27^th to Neuro ICU here, then moved a week later to the Neuro Ward. 

My son’s attacker has been charged with attempted murder and I and my family are struggling to come to terms with both the attack itself and the tragic consequences for my son. 

My son was left with no voice, his eyes turn inwards and he has double vision, his hearing is damaged and he is unable to stand, sit or move unaided. He is being fed through a nasogastric tube as he cannot swallow. He is, however, fighting it and winning. 

Nick is perfectly lucid, has retained his intellect, memory and personality. He is able to communicate via an alphabet board. This takes time, as his left hand, the only one that works, is not only still unsteady, but he is hampered by the double vision which makes the ‘aim’ of the finger uncertain sometimes. However, his spelling, syntax and vocabulary are excellent. An eye patch was promised two weeks ago, to help him focus when spelling, but may finally materialise today after speaking last night to the duty physio. 

I had intended to visit you today, but as my employer has failed, for the second week running, to pay my own sick pay into the bank, I am unable to get to Oxford. I am trying to borrow money for petrol to see my son, but so far have been unable to do so. It will be the first day I have missed since the 4^th July and I promised I would be there. 

I am extremely concerned about the level of care on the ward from what appears to be the majority of the nursing staff. I have already spoken to  Nick’s consultant regarding certain aspects of this. (please see attached letter) 

It had taken me till Tuesday 11^th to be able to see a doctor at all. The nurses had failed to pass on my daily requests. 

I have no criticism of the standard of medical care, and the therapists are excellent. However, the personal aspect of care appears to be entirely absent. 

Nick cannot use his right side, yet the call button is invariably placed to his right, or left on the floor. Spillages of his liquid food were left for four days gathering dirt on the floor beside his bed, until I showed them to the consultant on Tuesday. A nurse had to clean it up, as the cleaners said they couldn’t (remnants of this were still on his locker top last night).  Nick is desperate to have his hair washed and cut.. half of it was shaved for the operations and it was his pride and joy. ICU washed it lightly on the 29^th to remove the matted blood and I have asked many times since then to be allowed to do something with it for him. It seems it causes too many problems for the short-staffed nurses. 

When Nick needs to use the bathroom, he cannot call a nurse, unless he can reach the buzzer, which is rare. When he calls a nurse, for that or any other reason, he can only explain if they are prepared to take the time to allow him to spell out what he needs to say. This seldom happens. He was left (edited) and without underwear or pyjamas when we arrived to visit on Wednesday evening. After two hours, my younger son went in search of a nurse, to be told they had been called to another patient and so had left Nick. I can understand that in principle, but not to leave him in that condition for two hours. He was very distressed. He has been told he is dirty. 

Used boxers and pyjamas are shoved in the locker, unwrapped, to be taken home for washing…on top of his clean clothes, showing an utter disregard for hygiene. Half his own pyjama bottoms, newly bought, are now missing presumed binned. 

Nick’s things are all kept out of his reach. Whilst in bed 19.1, the locker was to his left. Now in room 25, the locker was turned away so he could not reach, nor even see photographs. I moved it myself so he can at least see. 

He cannot reach to put the TV on should he want to watch it, cannot get to his CD player or CD’s unless someone helps him, nor to his magasines.. he lays there doing nothing unless we are there, apart from the visits to physio. 

Nick had been living and working in Bournemouth originally. When it became obvious that he would be unable to go back to his flat, we gave it up and I wrote to change his address and GP, handing the open letter to the nurse on duty and explaining why, so that his address and GP details could be changed. The letter appears to have gone missing and I had to speak to the receptionist myself several days later, as the Bournemouth address was delaying funding for Nick’s further treatment and rehabilitation. 

Stoke Mandeville, I understand initially refused to accept him whilst waiting for a place at OCE, because of this. We live outside Aylesbury and the financial strain of visiting every day, first in Southampton, then at Oxford is appalling. I can come over in the afternoon.. could in fact be there all day.. but because of the visiting hour restrictions, cannot stay as long as I wish, as I have the only car and everyone else needs picking up from work. A move to Stoke Mandeville would have eased the financial burden considerably and, crucially, allowed the whole family to visit more often. 

Last night, however, was the final straw. Nick has a problem with his bladder and was in pain. This has gone on for four days, following an accumulation of sediment that had blocked the tube. The catheter had been removed on Tuesday and later replaced as Nick was unable to pass water for the second time.. largely because he was given a bottle and left to get on with it. He is laid in bed, with buttoned pyjama bottoms, a bottle (edited)….

Since then, the catheter has been in place and he has been in pain. I have asked the nurses about this and they have promised to help. Nick has spelled out that daily irrigation was suggested to keep the tubes clear, but has not been done. Nick was in pain last night so we asked the nurse for help. We waited from 7pm till after 8pm before a nurse came back. At this point I assume the shift changes? The new nurse said she would deal with it. We were laughed at and told not to worry, they would take care of him. 

While we were waiting the feed drip alarm went off. The orderly came in and offered Nick water (he is nil by mouth as he cannot swallow) and switched off the alarm. My partner asked how the nurses would know it needed changing. The reply from the orderly, in the most aggressive manner, was, “ Well, I have a voice. I can speak to them”.

That was bad enough, but she then bragged about her response to a colleague in the corridor, within my son’s hearing. I therefore went out to her and explained that I found her remark insensitive and inappropriate given my son’s current condition. But apparently that makes me ‘a very rude woman’. 

We stayed until 11pm last night. The duty physio was called, had the nurse check for infection ( a trace showed) suggested a bladder scan and explained about the possibility of bladder spasms.  Nick spelled out for her that nobody had explained any of this to him before. She suggested I contact you and explained the PALS service, and also suggested I see Sister. 

Nick is treated like a five year old, or an imbecile according to Nick himself he is spoken about, rather than being spoken to, and treated most of the time as if he is unable to understand. He is accorded no dignity or decency and gets little help or consideration for his current disability whilst on the ward. A few of the nursing staff have been excellent, but for the most part, we have found the experience on this ward exceptionally distressing, for all of us. 

I would be grateful if you would speak to Nick himself and try and help. I think the ward sister should also be made aware of these problems, and I am copying in our police liaison officer. 

I apologise for the length of this document. One wonders what other patients go through in silence if they have no-one, or are too afraid to speak out. 

Regards,

Sue Vincent