Hospital apology for swearing

A NURSE who swore at a patient after he complained about his treatment at Weston General Hospital, has resigned after being told her actions amounted to 'gross misconduct'.Mark Wright, aged 39, says he was admitted to hospital with a suspected heart attack but after arriving was left on a trolley in his own urine for two hours.One night he claims he complained about chest pains, but nothing was done. He says he was not the only patient on the ward who complained about the low standard of care at the Grange Road hospital. Mr Wright, pictured right, a food company project manager, of Hestercombe Close, Weston, said: "The conditions we were left in were awful. Floors were covered in stains and the ward stank of urine."After a complaint was made, Mr Wright claims a nurse told him: "You got no f***ing right talking like that."The hospital's nursing director, Deborah Thompson, said in a letter to the Wright family: "In my career as a nurse I have never experienced behaviour like this and I am very sorry that you had to."I have since met with the nurse and explained that patients are in hospital due to their illnesses and expect to receive appropriate care in a caring environment."I pointed out that her behaviour was extremely uncaring and constituted gross misconduct."Mark's wife, Rebecca, aged 40, said: "The treatment my husband received at the hospital was atrocious and gets me angry just thinking about it. There was one chap next to Mark who had told staff he was hungry but they told him he would not be fed until dinner time. In the end I brought in sandwiches for him."A spokesman for Weston Area Health Trust, which runs the hospital, said: "There was an incident on a ward when a member of the nursing staff made unacceptable comments in front of patients."All the patients who witnessed the incident, including Mr Wright, immediately received both verbal and written apologies on behalf of the trust.