A great-grandfather was on a ward in hospital for four weeks before being told he had suffered a broken back.

Malcolm Sapsed’s family say he has become “unrecognisable” in the few weeks he’s been in Medway Maritime Hospital.

The 74-year-old from Kemsley, near Sittingbourne, was first taken admitted after breaking his arm, but a month later he was diagnosed with lung cancer, bone cancer and a broken back.

Mr Sapsed was first taken to hospital after breaking his arm.

In recent months he has suffered from episodes of confusion which on this occasion meant he tried to get into the bath at 4.30am, on Friday, September 8. He heard a crack as he tried to get out.

The break was confirmed by A&E doctors and he was admitted to Lister Ward.

Despite numerous tests and visits from several doctors, it then took four weeks before he was told he had also broken his back and had cancer.

Malcolm’s daughter, Lacey Hider, from Debnam Grove in Great Easthall, says the hospital’s delay in diagnosing her dad with a broken back is part of a catalogue of issues they’ve had.

The 43-year-old explained that her dad's health first started to deteriorate in December last year.

Malcolm, a grandad of 11, had a CT scan which revealed a nodule and shadows on his lungs.

This was again seen in later scans in February and May but doctors at Medway hospital said it was likely due to the bronchitis he’d been ill with when he was much younger.

In August Malcolm began hallucinating and developed lumps on his neck and collar bone. The great-grandad was also in constant pain due to aches around his sternum and was unable to lie down as a result.

Still without answers Lacey tried to make her dad a doctor’s appointment again after being told he was just suffering with a chest infection. She was told to see a pharmacist.

The pharmacist said he needed to see a GP, something the family had already been trying to do, but the doctor’s surgery could only book him an urgent appointment four days later.

Malcolm had his accident in the bath and was taken to Medway Hospital before this could happen.

Lacey, a carer, said: “Although his arm was obviously broken, and that was a major concern for me, I was also happy that he was being admitted to hospital as it was a way I could get someone to actually assess him properly.”

The first doctor the mum-of-four and her dad saw in A&E explained to the pair that in his opinion, it was very probable that Malcolm had lung cancer that had spread to the bones.

Lacey continued: “Although I was still in disbelief at how the hospital was unable to pick up the cancer during his multiple scans over the last year I finally thought he was going to be cared for.”

She was relieved her dad was finally in the right place to get help, but this feeling soon turned to anger and disbelief after her dad was admitted to the Lister Ward where Lacey claims he was “dumped in the corner and forgotten about.”

The family was unable to speak to a doctor and claim Malcolm was left in his bed for a week without being offered a wash.

This led to multiple bed sores that Lacey had to treat with nappy cream she’d brought to the hospital herself.

Lacey explained: “On day five of his stay I went to visit dad and the poor gentleman in the bed next door to him had had an accident on the way to the bathroom.

“After waiting 30 minutes and asking three nurses to clean it up because my dad needed the bathroom I couldn't wait any longer.

“I put on some blue gloves and grabbed a packet of antibacterial wipes which are up on the wall with the aprons and headed out into the corridor to clean it up.

“The nurse came along and asked if I was alright and what I was doing.

“I explained the situation and that nobody had come to clean it up and she patted me on the shoulder and said ‘ok, thank you’ and walked off with the urine and faeces still on the floor.

“I was left to clean it up, it wasn’t even my dad’s mess, it was from another patient.”

Following this Lacey made her first complaint to the hospital and PALS. It was only after this that her dad had his first wash and shave after being admitted.

Malcolm’s family felt things were on the up after this but Lacey said things soon went back to the way it was before.

Lacey says Malcom’s broken arm was left to hang downward onto the bed in its cast and out of a sling which led to mass swelling – nurses did not instruct him to lift it up and keep it in his sling during his periods of confusion.

By week three of his stay at Medway Hospital Lacey and Malcolm’s family still hadn’t seen the same doctor twice and no answers had been given about the numerous tests and CT scans he’d undergone.

After Lacey made a number of further complaints Malcolm was moved down to Wakeley Ward on Friday, September 29.

Again doctors promised Lacey her dad would undergo more tests - the same ones promised or already done, when he was first admitted.

Lacey said: “I told them ‘you've been telling us this for four weeks now. He's now on a different ward and you’ve still not done anything’.”

Malcom was eventually sedated so he could be laid down for a CT scan, and a biopsy on the neck.

On Tuesday, October 3, Lacey’s brother got a call for Malcom’s results.

She said: “They called Mark and said ‘I'm really sorry, it's not good news, your dad's got lung cancer and secondary bone cancer. It's in every single one of his bones, his feet, his wrists and his collarbone. We'll probably call a family meeting at some point, but we just wanted to let you know. Oh, and by the way, he's got a broken back as well’.”

Mark was also told that the hospital could only offer Malcolm end-of-life care as a result.

Lacey added: “We all turned up for this family meeting arranged by the hospital to discuss his results only to get there to be asked by the matron who had arranged the meeting as she didn’t know anything about it.”

After the meeting Lacey still has no answers about how Malcolm’s broken back went undiagnosed for four weeks and why his cancer results took so long to be finalised.

She added: “Honestly the place is an absolute joke.

“If you could see my dad three months ago and see him now he's almost unrecognisable and now they're telling us there's nothing they can do.

But I have been on their case for months, he's been on their radar since last year and in the hospital, since September 8.

“How can someone be in hospital for four weeks and the medical professionals not know that they’ve got a broken back?

“It does not make sense how scans done in December, February and May aren’t a cause of concern for them despite him having shadows on his lungs and then by September, a couple of months later, he is dying from cancer.”

A spokesman for Medway Hospital explained they were unable to speak in detail about individual cases.

Jayne Black, chief executive at Medway NHS Trust, said: ‘’We are very sorry that Ms Hider is unhappy with the standard of care being provided to her father.

“We are actively investigating the concerns that have been raised and our senior nursing colleagues remain in close contact with the patient’s family to discuss ongoing treatment.’’