The wife of a man who has had a quadruple heart bypass, internal bleeding and Covid has criticised the care of doctors.

Sandra Hibbert feels her husband James has been neglected by consultants who need "retraining on how to communicate with patients' families".

The couple, who live in Minster, have lodged a complaint against Medway Maritime Hospital, Gillingham, due to problems over two years.

They include the hospital's failure to communicate with James' family and lack of help to find the cause of his internal bleeding and pain.

Sandra, 66, said: "It's urology department and some consultants I am holding personally responsible for their lack of duty of care and utter disregard for my husband’s wellbeing.

"He is unfortunately a very sick man, and if his condition isn’t treated properly and soon, I feel this may be the end for him.

"The way my husband has been treated is beyond words and quite frankly, you wouldn’t treat a dog like this."

As well as the bypass, retired glazer James has two stents and is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

In December 2020, the 68-year-old caught Covid and was hospitalised – he continues to battle its long-term effects.

Retired admin officer Sandra said: "He has had several UTI infections resulting in internal bleeding, he has had a catheter in for several months, which is blocked on a weekly basis with blood clots.

"This, for some unknown reason, isn’t taken seriously, they only flush through his catheter as a temporary fix.

"They haven’t attempted to see what the cause of bleeds are, or even tried another solution.

"The diabetes combined with the UTI leaves James very disorientated, confused and in unbearable pain."

In January he was transferred to Sittingbourne Memorial Hospital for mobility rehab, but had to going back to A&E several times for various reasons. He has now been discharged.

Sandra added: "The doctors have said he needs an urgent cystoscopy, endoscopy and CT scan and as you may have guessed, these are yet to be done.

"I was promised on March 4 that these were all extremely urgent and will be booked as an emergency, they were still not done.

"Hospital staff need retraining on how to communicate with relatives and families of their patients as we have gone days without any contact or updates.

"When we do hear, all we get is 'he's OK'. This is not acceptable."

As a result of his illnesses, James has lost all mobility and body muscle due to being bed bound.

His family feel he has lost the will to live.

The grandmother-of-five said: "He wasn't eating or drinking because he is aware this will cause severe pain within his bladder and bowels. He is very close to just giving up."

Medway NHS Foundation Trust has pledged to investigate.

Chief executive Dr George Findlay said: “Mr Hibbert’s care and wellbeing remain a priority for the staff who are treating him.

"We will be thoroughly investigating the complaint through our complaints process, and will also be contacting her to discuss her concerns."

However, Sandra added: "My husband is a very sick man and has deteriorated extremely fast at the hands of Medway doctors, if he isn’t seen to soon, we will be burying him before the month is out and I will be holding Medway hospital completely responsible."

Earlier this month, James had a further operation where Sandra actually felt his care had improved.

She said: "I do understand the NHS are stretched due to the pandemic, but that shouldn’t mean other patients' illnesses are less important.

"I would like to stress, the nurses have been amazing and they don’t get the praise they deserve, whereas the doctors should be absolutely ashamed of themselves."

The trust was asked to comment further on the claims made by Mrs Hibbert, however, it was unable to make a statement on medical records and procedures.