Jayne: My name is Jayne Nicholls
I am Paul Ridd's sister.
Jonathan: My name is Jonathan Ridd
and I'm Paul Ridd's brother.
Jayne: Paul was a very special individual.
He was born in 1955 with a cord around his neck, which left him with severe learning disabilities.
We are very privileged to have Paul as part of our family.
Jonathan: He was always smiling.
Jayne: We're very proud of Paul and blessed to have had him.
Paul suffered with bowel conditions. He had a perforated bowel.
In two-thousand... it was New Years Eve 2008
and he was taken into hospital and he spent three weeks in intensive care.
Where Paul was treated very well in intensive care because he was under sedation
But when Paul came round and we were put on a general ward
Paul's care deteriorated tremendously.
And Paul actually died from neglect in hospital.
He didn't get the dignity, or treated with the dignity or the respect that he deserved.
Jonathan: Given Paul's disability we spent, between us, 24 hours at the hospital with him.
to make sure that he at a familiar face around him
and he felt comfortable and supported.
As Jayne said, he had undergone a major operation.
He was transferred prematurly onto a general ward where the error started.
The medical staff, the nurses staff, definitely missed the signs,
despite us as family and carers constantly saying that Paul was deteriorating. That he was ill.
They didn't react quick enough.
And they kept putting Paul's condition down to agitation
and actually at the time, he was dying.
Jayne: We were telling them he wasn't well and nobody was reacting.
They were giving him diazepam for agitation, they were saying his clamminess was all due to his disability.
The diazepam actually brought his death on quicker.
So paul actually died from diagnostic overshadowing.
It means when they see the disability, not the illness. So it was really a very very tragic death.
Jonathan: His life wasn't valued like yours and ours
Jayne: We are tortured as a family by what Paul went through.
Jonathan: We wrote a letter to the coroner, raising our concerns, which was a list of actually 33 questions.
We went through a number of meetings
We attended a number of meetings with hospital staff, of which they couldn't answer these questions.
So then it instigated us taking it further, involving the Ombudsman,
in order for us to really understand what happened to Paul and why he died.
Jayne: The Ombudsman listened to us and took on our enquiry
and proved that Paul had died from neglect and that the level of care that he received was dire.
And that his learning disabilities were not take into account when he was treated in hospital.
We have lost so much, we have paid the ultimate price loosing Paul.
We'll never get him back, but this is a legacy to Paul
because there's changes that need to be made.
Jonathan: Training medical staff and nurses is very important
as understanding a person with a learning disability, we see it as a key.
Jayne: There needs to be communication between medical staff
and family and carers, the people who actually know the individual,
know all about them because then they can tell them
the different signs about how they show pain.
Jonathan: It's so important for nurse and medical staff
to listen to carers, to listen to families,
to really understand the person that they are trying to treat and care for,
in order to make the right decisions,
which again is so pertinent for the well-being of that person.
Jayne: My fears are that we see another story like Paul, that you put the news on
and you read about somebody else who's died from neglect. That's our fears.
Our hopes, that the work that's going on in the country makes a difference
so people actually get treated with the dignity that they deserve,
they have a better healthcare experience, they live longer
and their lives are enhanced by a better system.
Jonathan: We will not stop until we see the changes that are required.
Jayne: We weren't listened to and as a result Paul died.