A consultant commissioned by the Bermuda Hospitals Board to compile a report on how healthcare on the Island can be improved was told a catalogue of hospital horror stories at a public meeting last night.Patient pressure organisation the Bermuda Healthcare Advocacy Group had invited Jim Langstaff to their public forum in order for him to learn of patient concerns about treatment at King Edward VII.Mr Langstaff is the lead consultant of Howard Associates, which is conducting a clinical governance review of BHB.Opening the meeting, BHAG chairman Mark Selley told the audience that the group’s aim was to “build the hospital up, not knock it down”.But he added: “BHB is currently under a great deal of pressure with the construction of a new hospital wing and confronting some of the internal challenges as a result of questionable clinical and administrative operations.“As we embark on a new era in healthcare and rising cost, it is imperative that the community partner and take a more proactive role in our one and only hospital.“BHAG has attempted to challenge the status quo by demanding better accountability and transparency from the BHB and executives.”Inviting members of the public to raise any issues, the first speaker mentioned an incident earlier this year when her grandson had to attend hospital after injuring his finger.After an x-ray, the patient was sent home with his finger in a splint but returned the next day to be told that he needed surgery. The finger had broken cleanly and needed to be put back together with pins. “It was careless to send him home — they were casual,” the woman claimed.Another member of the audience told how her elderly mother was sent to hospital after gashing her head in a fall a few years ago.Passing around gruesome photographs of the injuries, the woman claimed: “They stitched her up and just sent her straight back home. They didn’t carry out any X-rays or anything — they didn’t even keep her in for observation.”The same woman said that her mother was now on a ward at the hospital.She explained how she recently called on her mother to find her unattended in a room with five other elderly patients who had all been given dinner trays — even though they were all unable to feed themselves.The woman claimed she spent the next hour feeding her mother and the other five patients because no nursing staff came to help.The same woman claimed elderly patients were left to wait when they asked for help going to the bathroom and patient hygiene was also neglected.The woman’s husband mentioned that conditions on his mother-in-law’s were appalling, with leaking ceilings, rust and even a door that was hanging off its hinges.“Patients there are on their way out but they are the ones who paved the way,” the man claimed.“They have paid their dues and they need respect and basic help. They need a decent exit from this world and they’re just not getting it.”Audience members said they felt frustrated because, even after making a complaint, it seemed nothing would get done.“They just seem to be passing the buck and you feel like you’re banging your head against the wall,” one woman said.Another man claimed his father was admitted to hospital for a simple outpatient operation “and nine weeks later he came out in a box”.The man did not provide details of his father’s case but added: “Aftercare is generally a chance. If you get on a good ward with good people, then you’ll come out fine.”Mr Langstaff said that his team had consulted with healthcare professionals and the wider community since it began its study five months ago.And he said that, for a community of its size, Bermuda had impressive healthcare facilities.“But we have to recognise that there’s only one hospital and so we have to make it the best possible hospital for Bermuda,” he said.He described the new hospital development as “a good thing” that will last for another 80 years, adding that the current facility was “outdated and not the most effective in design”.Mr Langstaff assured the audience that his report was nearly complete and was very “action oriented”.“The board is extremely engaged and committed to make substantial changes,” he added.Newly appointed board member Kathryn Gibbons was also at the meeting. “It was enormously helpful in providing information,” Mrs Gibbons said afterwards.“I can assure the public that the new board is fully committed to making improvements at the hospital.”