A DURSLEY mother is accusing Vale Community Hospital of putting her dying mother through a scheme designed for terminal patients without being notified or requesting her consent.

Tracy Ackroyd, from Springfields, believes Joan Ackroyd, 78, was neglected by staff in her three week stay at the hospital after being diagnosed with lung cancer, and said she only found out she was on the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) programme minutes before she died on November 9, 2012.

The programme aims to help doctors and nurses provide the best care for dying patients and will consider stopping treatment, comfort measures and whether to stop giving them food and fluids, with the protocol that the patient is consulted if possible or their family.

However Ms Ackroyd, 44, insists she was never told about the decision and has been left in a fragile state since her time at the hospital, which she described as "a living nightmare".

The former support worker claims staff were verbally abusive and unprofessional in caring for her mum and said she even had to call her GP to enlist his help in convincing staff to give her mother painkillers.

Ms Ackroyd also described an incident to the Gazette where she found her mother thrashing about in bed in pain but that a nurse became angry with her when she tried to close the door to give her more privacy.

"It was like a zoo, with everybody walking past and looking in," she said.

"The nurse was really going at me. She had to be pulled away by another staff member in the end."

The mother-of-one also said she witnessed her mother being dropped by a member of staff and found bruises on her legs on several occasions.

She told the Gazette she regretted not complaining at the time but was overwhelmed by the situation, as well as still coming to terms with the death of her father Fred Ackroyd in March.

"I should have complained but I was so out of my head at the time," she said.

"But when I think about it, it makes me feel angry about the way they treated her. I think people should know what’s going on there and how it was for us.

"They need proper staff, proper training. There needs to be action and they need a real kick. I do not think we are the only ones."

Director of nursing for Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust, Liz Fenton, declined to comment on the individual allegations but wanted to assure the family that all complaints were investigated fully.

"As a first step, we would like to invite the family to get in contact with us directly to discuss their concerns," she said.

"This may be done in a number of ways, including contacting our Patient Advice & Liaison Services or Gloucestershire Healthwatch.

"All types of feedback are important to us. If any patients or their families have concerns about their care, then we really welcome them getting in touch so we can respond appropriately."