Hospital staff prevent son, 61, saying his final goodbyes to his dying mother, 93, because ‘they did not know which ward she was on’
- John Till raced to Colchester Hospital after being told his mother had a fall
- Nurses urged the 61-year-old to come in and he rushed to say final goodbye
- But he spent 40 minutes struggling to find her as staff couldn’t help him
- By the time he found his mother, Vera, she had already died in the hospital
Blundering hospital staff prevented a son from saying a final goodbye to his dying mother because they did not know where she was.
John Till was phoned by nurses at Colchester Hospital in Essex and urged to come in as quickly as possible after his mother, Vera, suffered a fall at home.
But when the retired cop arrived at the hospital, no-one was able to tell him which ward his mother was on.
Mr Till, 61, frantically rushed from ward to ward in a desperate bid to find the fiercely independent 93-year-old whose one wish was not to die in a hospital or care home.
After 40 minutes of stressfully looking around the hospital he was pointed towards the Birch Ward.
John Till (pictured with his mother, Vera, on her 93rd birthday) raced around the hospital for 40 minutes trying to find his mother to say his final goodbye
A nurse then opened the curtains on what was supposedly a ‘vacated’ bed and John was greeted by the shocking sight of his dead mother who appeared to be ‘screaming’.
The former Met officer, who served for 31 years, is fuming at the hospital for possibly preventing him having one final chance to see his mum whilst she was still alive.
‘They pulled back the curtains and mum was sitting bolt upright, mouth wide open and knuckles clenched.
‘No-one had even been aware she was there. I said ‘she’s dead’ and they looked at me, one of the nurses said ‘We don’t know that.’
Vera (pictured) died in Colchester Hospital, Essex, before her son, John, was able to say goodbye to her
‘One of them walked over to mum and put a hand on her head and said ‘your son’s here.’
‘I thought ‘You must be in the wrong job if you don’t know’. I could tell she was dead straight away.’
Vera had been moved onto the ward about 20 minutes earlier, whilst John was still searching the corridors for her. I was so angry I couldn’t speak.
‘I had been looking for her for more than half an hour, it could have been my last chance to say goodbye.
‘They found out she had been brought on to the ward alive 20 minutes before – while I was still searching,’ John added.
Mrs Till was admitted to the hospital on July 26, after suffering a fall at her home in Clacton.
At around 4.30pm, Mr Till received a call informing him his mother’s condition was stable.
But at around 6.30pm he received a second call urging him to get to the hospital as soon as possible as her condition was critical.
Nurses at Colchester Hospital (pictured) told Mr Till to come and see his mother, but when he got there nobody could tell him where she was
He arrived at the hospital at around 7.50pm and found his mother’s body at 8.30pm. Mr Till stressed he did not blame staff for her death but he is fuming that she died alone.
‘I do not, in any way, blame the hospital for my mother’s death. The issue is I entrusted my mum into their care and they lost her.
‘I knew she might well die soon, but all I had wanted was for her to not die alone and that is exactly what happened.’
Mr Till, of Brentwood, worked as a dog handler as part of the Met’s territorial support group – typically involved in frontline operations like policing protests and carrying out drugs raids.
He has seen people who have been stabbed, shot and burned, but said his experience that day at the hospital was far worse.
‘I’ve seen plenty of dead bodies in my day, but none like my mother’s. Her mouth was open like she had been screaming. She looked terrified, like she had been screaming for help.’
He frequently made the journey to visit his mum in Clacton and during the past two years travelled 20,000 miles across 200 visits.
Mr Till was eager to ensure his mother maintained a degree of her closely-guarded independence but was under no illusions her health was failing. Mrs Till had heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Catherine Morgan, director of nursing at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘We are very sorry to learn of this and offer Mr Till and his family our sincere apologies.
‘We strongly encourage Mr Till to contact us so that we can look into every aspect of Mrs Till’s care.’
Mr Till has filed a complaint through the hospital’s PALS system.
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