NURSING standards at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital have again come under fire this week, with two Bermudians reporting mistreatment at the hands of nurses – and hospital CEO David Hill (pictured) admitting that service provided in the wards is "not always consistent".

The Mid-Ocean News spoke to two members of the public, both of whom have filed written complaints against KEMH, on the condition of anonymity.

Both allegations come weeks after the Bermuda Hospitals Board and the Ministry of Health announced the creation of a Bermuda College programme that will see nurses qualify without a Bachelor of Science degree or experience in a teaching hospital.

The wife of one local man has already received an apology from the Board's clinical risk manager Lynn Henry, but considers the letter insufficient for the suffering her husband underwent.

She says her husband almost died when nurses at KEMH administered codeine to treat his pain – despite having given him a hospital-issue wristband to wear, clearly signaling his allergy to the drug.

"My husband was wearing three coloured wristbands given to him when he was admitted, one of which said that he is allergic to codeine," she said.

"The hospital asked him to wear the wristbands, but then they gave codeine to him anyway! They also gave him morphine, resulting in his going into a morphine coma for four days. When his blood was taken, it was black."

"They said they'll look into [my complaints], but it's nothing substantial for what they put him through for five weeks," the woman said, adding that her husband was initially admitted for a low kidney count but ended up in Intensive Care for eight days.

She charges the nurses at KEMH with "neglect", adding that she finds their suitability for providing care "questionable".

"Those aren't real nurses down there," she said.

"Why wear a wristband if no one checks it? I believe the nurses are only there for a paycheck. It's unbelievable what's going on down there, and people are unaware."

Another Bermudian woman filed a complaint to the hospital after watching her mother deteriorate, eventually transferring her from one ward to another when questions arose about her care.

The local woman told the Mid-Ocean News of the "deplorable state" she found her elderly mother in, having been left unwashed and unchanged despite her incontinence.

Worse, for her daughters, was when a nurse informed them that their mother had suffered a "setback" in care days earlier: a heart attack.

"The nurse told my sister that our mother had suffered a minor heart attack, describing it as a 'setback," she said.

"Why didn't they call and tell anyone at the time?"

The woman questions whether her mother is safe at KEMH, adding that a meeting was held this week at the hospital resulting in a decision to send the 80-year-old – a former foster mother to needy kids – back home, where her daughters will have to oversee her care.

"She is in no condition to come home," the woman said.

"And I feel we're not equipped to bring her home. But we can't leave her down there at the hospital in these conditions. What else is going on down there that we're not seeing? I'm concerned for her safety. The best place for her is in hospital – but we can't take the chance."

CEO Mr. Hill expressed his concern about these latest complaints, adding that substandard care is considered unacceptable at Bermuda's hospitals.

"All of us at the hospital are particularly concerned by any complaint that indicates a patient's safety, comfort or dignity was compromised," he said.

"It is simply not acceptable for our service to be substandard. We have a large number of staff who provide excellent service at our hospitals, but patient feedback through complaints and our patient satisfaction survey indicate that we are not always consistent with our service levels in our wards and this is already being addressed as a Board priority."

"It was one of the drivers behind our public clinical structure consultation last August, following which we are now in the process of recruiting more nurses, increasing the frequency of nurse rounding and improving accountability.

"Additionally, we have already tightened our medication management processes. It should be noted that any hospital from time to time will have an incident, and the Board closely review both serious events relating to patient care and also serious complaints that have been made. We are accountable for making improvements, ensuring patient safety and it is a Board priority for the hospital to improve the patient experience."

Shadow Minister of Health and Seniors Louise Jackson has also lent her voice to these latest complaints, adding that she has been "besieged with calls" in recent weeks from patients and their family members reporting problems with care administered at KEMH.

"Our hospitals must provide patients with the best quality of care and highly trained personnel with credentials that are accepted in developed countries, i.e. the UK, USA, and Canada," she said.

"Our only acute care hospital should have state of the art equipment and the conditions of the wards should be clean and in good repair. This is not the case at KEMH today and it has not been case for several years.

"There have been more formal complaints given to the hospital than ever before. They range from poor nursing, lack of medication, and bathrooms that need repair. Bermudians are outraged about the poor state of the hospital knowing that so much money was spend on renovating the fifth floor, which houses the administration staff, in five star luxury."