A GRIEVING widow has launched a legal claim against the Royal Blackburn Hospital after her late husband suffered a 'catalogue of mistreatment'.

Shirley Moore, from Sunnybower in Blackburn, is furious about several failings and indignities which she said added to the suffering of Francis Moore, in the last days of his life.

The 82-year-old was admitted with prostate cancer and bone disease, and staff on Ward C11 failed to prevent him developing a severe 'bed sore' on his back side.

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Mrs Moore, 72, was disgusted to find the deep, open wound covered in excrement and urine, and upset that her husband was being nursed without wearing pyjama bottoms.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, has apologised to the family and conceded 'there were gaps in the care provided'.

It is not claimed the failings contributed to the retired aircraft fitter's overall deterioration and death.

ELHT said Mr Moore may not have been offered enough positional changes in his bed, which could have caused the 'Grade 3' bed sore, also known as a pressure ulcer.

The internal investigation also found that staff had placed continence pads beneath the grandad-of-four, which increased the risk of skin damage, and a catheter was only considered after the wound developed.

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It also found that Mr Moore, who spent ten days on the ward in March this year, was not assessed 'holistically' and was therefore denied a potentially beneficial referral to the dietician.

Mrs Moore, of Stonehill Drive, said: "I wouldn't want anyone else to go through that, it was terrible. It was us that noticed this pressure ulcer, as it hadn't been picked up earlier by the staff.

" It was causing him so much pain but he couldn't explain what was wrong. I can't describe how upsetting it was."

The care improved once a formal complaint was made, but the family have now instructed Farleys Solicitors to file a negligence claim against the trust.

Julie Molyneaux, deputy chief nurse at ELHT, said: “We again offer our sincere condolences to Mr Moore and his mother on their loss.

"We are sorry the family have felt it necessary to go to the media after their complaint was fully investigated by the trust, the findings shared with them and our sincere apologies expressed to the family for the poor experience they had whilst their father was in our care.

"We recognise that pressure ulcers are both distressing and painful to patients. To address the problem and reduce the number of pressure sores acquired in our hospitals, the Trust’s Pressure Ulcer Collaborative is working hard to improve the education and training available for staff.”

The family said they wanted to highlight the case after the last month's trust board papers showed there were two Grade 3 pressure ulcers reported on the wards in September.