"It was a very poor standard of care"

My mother was on the Cardiology Ward at the Royal in Belfast. My mother is at that age could get any infections. A staff member was in uniform when visiting the patient next to my mother. My concern is that COVID is on the rise and it's very dangerous. This staff member works in an office with other people who probably have children at school. So in my opinion it wasn't appropriate for them to come up to the ward and visit the patient.

Also my mammy had ECG leads and tubes. When my sister visited her she'd been in a week in the same bedclothes that hadn't been changed. And she hadn't had a shower in that time. My mammy is a very dignified woman and it's distressing that she couldn't get a shower. When my sister raised this with the Deputy Ward told her that she could have a shower if my sister waited with her. I don't think that's appropriate. It's my understanding that when you're in hospital you're under the care of the staff and that's not my sister's job. 

The bars on the sides of the bed were up and my mammy couldn't reach the button to put them down. She rang for help but nobody came. She was trying to get out to go to the toilet and so was crawling down the bed. That's a health and safety issue. I think this was a very poor standard of care.