A FARNHAM woman has strongly criticised the Royal Surrey County Hospital after her late mother was made to wait three days for an emergency operation without food and water.

Roxanne Murray's mother Yvonne Franquinet (85), who suffered from Alzheimer's Disease, was admitted to the Royal Surrey on April 20 last year with a broken hip following a fall at her nursing home, Shannon Court in Hindhead.

Mrs Murray says that she was left so traumatised by the episode that it is only now, several months after her mother's death, that feels able to talk about it.

Although Mrs Murray accepts that it is standard procedure not to eat or drink before an operation, she feels it was unacceptable that her mother, already in a frail condition was kept waiting for three days.

"Staff kept saying the delay was because of other emergencies, but what was my mother's case if it wasn't an emergency?

"She was looking increasingly frail, she was a small woman anyway, and her weight had gone down to four stone. You don't leave a woman with a broken hip for all that time. If it had happened to the Queen Mother, she would be treated five minutes later."

While she was awaiting the operation, Mrs Franquinet fell out of her bed, bruising herface, which Mrs Murray believes should have been prevented.

"She should not have been left unattended and staff should have put cot sides around the bed to stop her falling out.

"Her face was all bruised and she looked in an appalling state. As well as this, I wasn't even informed by the hospital; the first I heard of it was when staff at Shannon Court rang me up."

Mrs Murray claims her mother was left sitting in her own excrement and she had to tell nurses to clean her. She was also disappointed that her mother was discharged with bruising and sores.

In a letter to Mrs Murray, Royal Surrey chief executive Jeff Faulkner apologised for not informing her after her mother's fall and said that although some bruises were sustained in hospital, some of the ulcers and blisters were there when Mrs Franquinet was admitted.

Mr Faulkner explained that the reason cot sides were not put around her bed was that they can cause bruising and lacerations if the patient accidentally hits them and staff were concerned that Mrs Murray's mother could have caused herself more damage.

He refutes claims that Mrs Franquinet was not cleaned, "The nursing staff did their best to care for Mrs Franquinet during her time with us.

"However, the language barrier and Mrs Franquinet's confusion did make it much more difficult for staff to explain what they were doing and why. "Her hospital notes record that she was given full assistance with her hygiene needs."

Mrs Franquinet died in June lasy year.

Although Mrs Murray does not blame the Royal Surrey for her mother's death, and is not seeking compensation, she was keen to raise the the issue because she believes the frail and elderly are treated badly in hospital.

"I just think the elderly and vulnerable can be treated appallingly in hospital and I just wanted to share my experience."