A wife is devastated after her husband was left hungry and cold while a patient at a city's largest hospital.
June Blythe has been visiting her husband, John, to feed him three times a day since he was admitted to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital two weeks ago.
But Mrs Blythe recently broke her wrist after slipping on her patio step during a bout of heavy rain and has been unable to get to the hospital as regularly.
Mr Blythe, who is 77 years old, is living with Parkinson's disease, which is a neurological condition caused by a lack of dopamine in the brain, and also has dementia.
When she arrived to visit her husband of 57 years on Wednesday evening, she was "disgusted" to see the food he had been prepared was uncut and burnt.
She said: "He is supposed to be on red trays, which means his food must be soft and in small bites."
Mrs Blythe, 78, then asked for the meal to be replaced, which was much later.
She said: "I make sure he gets his meal fairly early but an hour later they still had not brought him his dinner.
"I went home and I was so concerned about him. Because of his dementia he can't always express how he is feeling."
Mrs Blythe said a similar incident had happened just the week before.
She said: "John's breakfast tray was still in place with half a bowl of porridge, a cold cup of tea and his water out of reach. His first words to me were that he was hungry and cold.
"It should not have happened. This cannot go on.
"I'm immensely grateful to the care and medical attention that John is receiving from the doctors and nurses but I'm appalled with the standard of care when it comes to eating and drinking."
Mrs Blythe also wants her husband to be released from the hospital so he can be at home with her but she says she has been told it will take between two and three weeks until they agree on a care package for him.
She said: "I have loved looking after my husband and all I want is for him to come home.
"They are taking away time from us that we could be spending together."
THE HOSPITAL'S RESPONSE
The chief nurse of the hospital, Lucy Weavers, has apologised for the treatment of Mr Blythe during his time at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
She said: "I am sorry to hear of the experience Mr John Blythe has had while in our care and the distress that this has caused to him and his family.
"We expect all patients to receive appropriate, dignified care, including meals that meet their assessed dietary needs and support to eat safely.
"The situation described does not reflect the standards we strive to provide and we are looking into the concerns raised by Mrs June Blythe regarding her husband's meals and delays in putting appropriate discharge and care arrangements in place.
"We are more than happy to talk to Mrs Blythe and would advise her to speak with the ward manager."
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