IN A powerful example of lost faith in Ipswich Hospital a family have today told how they have banned doctors from admitting their mother there.Brother and sister, Jackie Bowen and Mike Hazeldene, say they would rather see their elderly mum die peacefully in a nursing home than let her go back to Ipswich Hospital.

IN A powerful example of lost faith in Ipswich Hospital a family have today told how they have banned doctors from admitting their mother there.

Brother and sister, Jackie Bowen and Mike Hazeldene, say they would rather see their elderly mum die peacefully in a nursing home than let her go back to Ipswich Hospital.

She is currently in Monmouth Court nursing home but spent 11 weeks at the hospital in 2002/3 where she was diagnosed with MRSA.

Mrs Bowen said: "I'd feel I was betraying mum if I ever let her go back to Ipswich Hospital.

"I've told her GP nothing must be done without contacting us first. I've asked that, if it's her time to go, please let her go in the nursing home.

"I just could not bear for her to die in the way she was at Ipswich Hospital before."

Joan Hazeldene, 80, who has dementia, was admitted to the hospital in December 2002 after suffering a series of strokes. After about two weeks she was found to have MRSA.

Over the next nine weeks Mrs Bowen said her mother was moved around eight times - either into a ward with other people with MRSA or a single room.

Mrs Bowen, 50, of Corder Road, Ipswich, said: "Because she was losing so much weight they gave her protein drinks. One day I went in and she had spilt one of these down her front. It must have been there a while because it had dried rigid on her nighty.

"Another time I went in and she'd been left in an absolutely filthy state. She had severe diarrhoea and we had to clean her fingernails and all up the side of her bed.

"It was horrendous to see her like that."

Mr Hazeldene, 56, said: "In one of the side rooms we had to get a knife and scrape sticky mess off her bedside table.

"It looked like someone had spilt a fizzy drink there but it had obviously been left for a long time.

"On another occasion the floor in her room was so sticky we had to go off and try and find some cleaning materials so we could wipe it ourselves."

Mrs Bowen and her brother felt compelled to speak out after reading about the death of two-day-old Luke Day who contracted MRSA in the hospital's maternity department in February.

She said: "When you read about things like that you just think 'is it still going on?' It seems to have got worse and the only way something will get done is if people continue to tell their stories."

Jan Rowsell, spokeswoman for Ipswich Hospital, said: "Clearly, we are concerned to hear of these issues, which have never been raised directly with us, and we would urge Mrs Bowen to get in touch with us so that we can actually investigate all these issues.

"We urge everyone to raise any concerns at the time with staff, or to get in touch with our PALS, our patient advice and liaison service, so that we can look into the issues and try to put things right immediately."

What have your experiences of Ipswich Hospital been like? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk