The ghost incident occurred while Mrs Davies was convalescing from a partial mastectomy and still under the influence of anaesthetic. As a result, she thought that the ghost was a sign that she was going to die. She said: “I know it sounds silly now but I thought the ghost had come to get me. I was very vulnerable at the time. It would be funny if it was not so serious. But at the time I didn’t know if I was going to live or die.”
Mrs Davies said that the nurse came running down the hospital corridor after spotting the ‘ghost’. She said: “She said she had seen a spirit but not to worry, that she was a medium. The nurse told us that she was psychic, and that it was all right, she only saw friendly spirits.”
After Mrs Davies tried to complain about the incident, she was merely told to ignore the offending nurse, as “that was what she was like”. However, after making a formal complaint against Conwy and Denbighshire NHS trust, an independent review found the incident to be “unprofessional.” The review deduced, “The issue here is in a nurse being extremely unprofessional and I would suggest this type of behaviour would cause more than upset to patients.” It also found that the hospital had “completely skirted over” the “rather strange issue” of the psychic nurse, as well as providing a general level of care that was not acceptable.
Mrs Davies also complained that despite the sensitive nature of her surgery, she was placed on a mixed ward at the hospital. In addition to this, she also alleged that her case notes were left on the bed, allowing her to view the results of her biopsy without any support. Ms Davies made further allegations about her standard of care at the hospital, claiming that she was made to shower and dress herself alone and that the ward was unclean.
The review concluded that there “is very little doubt that the nursing care experienced by Mrs Davies fell well below an acceptable standard.” This conclusion prompted Jill Galvani, director of nursing, to make a full apology to Mrs Davies. She said: "We apologise to Mrs Davies that the standards of care fell below her expectations during her stay in Glan Clwyd Hospital. We can confirm that a complaint made by Mrs Davies was referred for an independent review. This was referred back to the trust with a number of recommendations.”
Speaking of the independent review’s findings, Mrs Davies said: “I am not after compensation or anything like that. I just want something done so that other women do not have to go through what I experienced. The episode with the psychic nurse was creepy and scary but hospital bosses only spoke to the nurse – they didn’t discipline her.”
