SANDWELL Hospital is “thoroughly investigating” alleged concerns by a heartbroken Rowley Regis family about the quality of care their late father received.

Frank Hayward, aged 83, died on December 10 following a month-long stay at West Bromwich-based hospital after he suffered a serious head injury in a fall at his home.

Mr Hayward’s daughters said they have submitted complaints to Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust – which run the hospital – regarding the care their father received.

Elaine Newell, chief nurse at the trust, said: “We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Mr Hayward’s family.

“I am very sorry that Mr Hayward’s family are unhappy with the treatment he received whilst he was in our care.

“We have met with family members about the issues they have raised so that we can learn from their experiences and we are thoroughly investigating their concerns.”

Following his fall on November 12, Mr Hayward was rushed to A&E where he was also complaining about neck pain. He was given a CT scan which showed no internal head injury, but was admitted – to what his family claim was “not the correct ward” – as he had low blood pressure.

As his time in hospital progressed, Mr Hayward’s health dramatically deteriorated and it became aware to his family that he was becoming more confused and ill.

Carolyn Mullins, Mr Hayward’s daughter, told the News: “It was clear to us that Dad was getting worse but nothing was being done about it and our complaints weren’t being taken seriously.

“It even got to the point where they were going to discharge him and send him home with a care package, but he was clearly not well enough for that.

“We were getting so concerned for him as he was confused and frustrated. He was previously diagnosed with dementia, but we’d never seen him like this. We were even told that ‘this is the way he’s going to be now’.

“But he was barely eating or drinking, and we had to be quite forceful to get him the treatment he needed.

“We felt he was being ignored. It seemed like nothing was getting done without staff being asked numerous times.”

A week-and-a-half after being admitted to the hospital – and after pressure from the family – Mr Hayward was moved to a different ward, before a scan revealed he was suffering from a severe bleed on the brain and two fractures in his neck.

Mr Hayward’s daughter Joanne Beckley said: “We knew there was something wrong with dad but they weren’t listening to us. We were told they couldn’t fit him in for a scan when we had previously requested one, but then he had three in a matter of hours. It didn’t make sense.

“At this point we were optimistic that his treatment would improve, but we were wrong.

“Firstly, they couldn’t get a neck brace the right size to stabilise the fractures in his neck. I spent hours ringing other hospitals and institutions in the area to see if they had one that would fit.

“Despite a surgeon stating that there was not a collar that would fit dad, we managed to locate, pay, and get a collar shipped ourselves from Glasgow. Multiple doctors said that this should not be our job, but we could not let dad suffer without a proper-fitting collar.

“Then on the Saturday [November 25] a patient who was visibly violent – and even hit one of the nurses – was moved onto the ward and we had to demand that he was moved to keep our dad and the other people on the ward safe.”

That same evening, Mr Hayward managed to fall out of his bed, despite the family claiming they were assured he would have monitored care, while his daughters also allege that they had to “beg” for another scan to see if the impact had further damaged his neck.

During the following week, an outbreak of norovirus saw Mr Hayward’s health deteriorate further.

At 1.55pm on Sunday, December 10, Mrs Mullins made a phone call where staff reported that Mr Hayward was “agitated” and wasn’t well. The family said they had called multiple times throughout the day to check on him but were not told of his deteriorating health.

Mrs Mullins said: “We were so worried. Due to the norovirus and recommended procedures to contain it we weren’t allowed to go in that day.

“But at 3.30pm I received a phone call to say he was really poorly and we need to come to the hospital to see him. This was an extremely snowy day but we needed to get to dad. We reached the hospital at about 4.15pm to be told he had passed away about 10 minutes after they had called us.

“We’re raising our issues with the hospital as we don’t want anyone else’s family to have to fight like we did to get our father basic treatment.”

Mr Hayward’s family – who have also raised their concerns with the Care Quality Commission and MP’s James Morris and Tom Watson – said they need time to grieve before deciding whether to take legal action against the trust.

An inquest into Mr Hayward's death - which is expected to last a day - has been adjourned until February 14.