Man claims Darent Valley Hospital starved his mum of food and water

Andrew Taylor was told that his mum had gone to hospital in November 2020 after she suffered a stroke in the kitchen of her home in Bexley.

87-year-old Betty Rose Taylor was with her husband who suffers from Alzheimer’s when he spilled a pot of gravy as she prepared a roast dinner, and she collapsed on the ground.

Betty was taken to hospital for treatment, where Andrew claims she was “dying of starvation” due to being denied of food and fluids.

Betty Rose Taylor, 87, in Darent Valley Hospital (Image: Andrew Taylor)

This was not her first stroke, as she had also suffered one at age 80.

Andrew claims that at the time, Darent Valley Hospital “wrote her off” and told him “she won’t be able to do this, that or the other”, but Betty went on to make a full recovery.

During the pandemic, Betty confided in her son that she was struggling to take care of his dad but because the country was in lockdown all he could do to help was drop food over for his parents.

Andrew had zoom calls with his mum while she was in hospital and during one of their December calls, the mum and son were laughing and joking about how it would not be long before Betty came home.

Andrew said: “I put the phone down About ten minutes later, my phone rang and answered the phone.

“Someone said ‘it’s Darent Valley Hospital. Sorry to have to tell you this but your mum’s entered end of life’.

“I said ‘you must have the wrong patient, I’ve just got off the phone to her, she’s laughing and joking’.

“I was then told these things happen really fast.

“In the end, the call ended and I thought something’s not right.”

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust has since said that it is “dedicated to delivering the highest level or care” and “rigorously” adheres to protocols to make sure patients are fed and kept hydrated.

Betty Rose Taylor, 87, after leaving Darent Valley Hospital (Image: Andrew Taylor)

In the following days, Andrew tried to phone his mum and could not get through.

He claims that when he did finally get a call through, he could hear his mum screaming “they’re killing me! Help me! Help me!” before the phone was “snatched away”.

Eventually, Andrew brought his mum home and was shocked to find that she had lost three stone whilst in hospital which he believes is the result of her not being given food or water.

He also claims that the hospital had stopped giving his mum her heart medication, blood medication and diabetes medication.

But, Andrew told the News Shopper she was given midazolam and morphine which a pharmacist has since told him causes “severe respiratory and breathing problems”.

He said: “When you think about this, they’d starved my mum of food and fluids, stopped her heart medication, her diabetes medication four or five days prior.

“That didn’t kill her.

“They were not interested in my mum they wanted her dead.

“They said my mum will never move her right leg again, she’ll be paralysed for life.

“She’s moving her leg. They wouldn’t believe it, said it was impossible.

“We even took my mum round the park, she even went to the post office around the corner to take her pension out. That’s an end-of-life person?

“How many other people are they doing it to?”

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust has launched an investigation following Andrew’s concerns and told the News Shopper that senior members of staff have been involved in addressing these complaints.

Other complaints Andrew has about the treatment from Darent Valley Hospital include a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ being implemented in Betty’s paperwork which he claims no one asked for his consent to put in place.

He also recorded phone calls during which members of staff were laughing while his cousin cried “please let her out” down the phone to them.

Andrew reached a point where he “had enough” and “could not do it anymore” and was under immense stress while his mum was in hospital.

A statement in full from Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust said: “We can confirm that this matter has been the subject of a thorough investigation.

“From the very start, senior members of the Trust have been directly and personally involved in addressing Mr. Taylor’s concerns.

“We held three separate formal meetings with Mr. Taylor, during which we intently listened to each concern, provided reassurance and offered full explanations regarding his mother’s care.

“The Trust extended apologies to Mr. Taylor for the instances where we felt the experience of himself and his mother did not meet expectations and issued a formal response to him following the investigation.

“Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust is dedicated to delivering the highest level of care to our patients.

“We rigorously adhere to infection and prevention control measures and follow strict protocols to ensure that all patients receive appropriate nutrition and hydration.

“We take all complaints extremely seriously and we are committed to working closely with families to address and resolve these matters collaboratively and compassionately.”