Horror stories from behind the thin hospital curtains
They are meant to give us privacy and comfort when we are most vulnerable – sick or injured, and often alone, in the hospital.
But the thin, gloomy curtains that are supposed to shield patients from their surroundings don’t always shield them from cruel barbs or callous remarks from medics — as some patients have been heartbroken to learn.
A MailOnline reader recounted their horrific stories in great detail, recounting how their father was diagnosed with cancer after hearing rowdy nurses refer to him as “the one with leukemia.”
Another story revealed how parents were forced to endure the laughter of staff as they said their final goodbyes to their dying child.
Some callous comments were so devastating that one family said their loved one had almost lost the will to live.
A family had to say goodbye to five-year-old son, Muhammad Ayaan Haroon, as medical staff laughed in the background in the same room at Sheffield Children’s Hospital
The father said there was only a thin curtain between the smiling doctors and nurses who had previously treated Ayaan as they watched him take his last breath.
Muhammad Ayaan Haroon: The staff laughed when my son died
Muhammad Ayaan Haroon’s grieving parents shared how hospital staff laughed as their baby boy’s life support was turned off.
Only a thin curtain stood between them and the smiling medic as they watched their son take his last breath.
Ayaan had been admitted to Sheffield Children’s Hospital on March 5 with difficulty breathing.
He had a history of respiratory disease and a rare genetic condition called Hace 1, which caused developmental delays. He died on March 13.
His father Haroon Rashid, a taxi driver and father of four, said: ‘When the machine was turned off at 2:30 am, many relatives were there.
‘There was laughter from employees. We were so upset.
“There was no one else in the ward except the staff and another small child behind the curtain of ours.”
Mr Rashid, 41, added: ‘The staff were sure Ayaan’s machine was about to shut down. They kept laughing after my relative asked them to stop.
“A child’s life was coming to an end.”
Sheffield Children’s Hospital officials promised a “thorough” investigation into the family’s claims.
Robert Arthur Venson: ‘The one with leukemia’
Being told ‘you have cancer’ is one of the most terrifying things a person can ever hear. Hearing raises a thousand other questions. How far has it spread? Can it be treated? Am I dying?
Such a conversation should always take place in private, with a doctor ready to walk their patient through the questions and offer them both honest and compassionate answers.
But for Robert Venson, 75, who was a senior representative for British Telecom, this was not the case.
Robert Arthur Venson of Portsmouth died of leukemia in 1997 at the age of 75
Gail Hugman, 70, from Essex, revealed the very sad account of how her father, Mr Venson, was first told of his diagnosis
Reflecting on her father’s death in 1997, Gail Hugman of Essex revealed the shocking reality of how he found out about his diagnosis.
The now 70-year-old said: “He was waiting to find out what was wrong with him.
And as he lay in bed waiting to hear his diagnosis. He heard the nurses talking and one said ‘oh he’s the one with leukemia’.’
‘That’s how he found out he had acute myeloid leukemia.
“He later officially got his diagnosis from the doctor, who said he would be dead in three months if they didn’t do anything.
She added that when Mr. Venson from Portsmouth heard the nurses, he turned white as a ghost.
Laura Higginson: ‘She’s clearly a cokehead’
Before her death in 2017, Laura Higginson of Cambridge spent five years in and out of hospital.
She had a condition called Gitelman’s syndrome, a kidney dysfunction that causes an imbalance of minerals in the body and causes fatigue, muscle weakness, and heart palpitations. It meant she needed very personal care.
Fighting a rare disease is hard enough, but it can get even harder when NHS staff blame your symptoms on a suspected drug addict.
Her family claims she was torn down ‘brick by brick’ by gossiping nurses and doctors who, they claim, cast a gruesome judgment on the lawyer-in-training as she lay inches away fighting for her life.
Laura, a trainee lawyer, was diagnosed with Gitelman syndrome in 2012
Her husband Dr. Antony Higginson, an expert in computer science, claimed doctors accused his then-25-year-old wife of being a “coke head” and “made up” her symptoms.
The ex-soldier, from Widnes, told MailOnline: “The adviser said, ‘She’s making it up, give her some painkillers and get her out of here as soon as possible.’ Laura heard him send her away.
“Another time we were in the ER and a doctor pulled the curtain, turned around and said ‘she’s obviously a cokehead.
“When he came back to us, he asked her if she was on drugs or starving herself. And she said, “I just heard you say you think I’m a coke head”.
She looked at me like ‘what’s the point of coming to the hospital if everyone thinks I’m starving myself and I’m a druggie and I’m making it up’.
“It tore her apart brick by brick.”
Laura died in 2017 at the age of 30 from sepsis and multiple organ failure.
Margaret Thomson: ‘Do not resuscitate’
Margaret Thomson was just inches away from doctors as they reportedly debated whether to try to save her if she needed CPR.
The 81-year-old, from Scotland, was in hospital after suffering a stroke.
“Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation” (DNACPR) is a phrase doctors use when they decide not to resuscitate a patient when their heart stops.
Emma’s grandmother Margaret Thomson died aged 81 after struggling to recover from a stroke in 2019
When deciding whether a patient should have a DNACPR notification, they or their family should be involved in the decision.
But according to the NHS, the decision can be made by your doctor, even if you don’t agree.
A DNACPR message is usually given when a doctor believes CPR is unlikely to be successful or may even cause a serious decline in the patient’s quality of life.
Typically, patients with this notification receive end-of-life care.
Margaret’s granddaughter Emma Thomson, 33, of Essex, said, “I feel like old people don’t really care. They are not getting the care they should be getting.
“It’s almost like they think they’re about to die soon, so they don’t really put in the effort.
“That’s the experience I’ve had with my grandparents for the past four years.
“When my grandmother was in the hospital, they talked about things like DNR behind the curtain and she heard things like that.”
Emma also has her own experiences of care in the NHS, having worked as an administrative assistant in a hospital in 2020.
Reflecting on her own healthcare experience, she revealed an incident of a physical therapist treating a patient horribly.
She said, “There was a man who had a serious brain injury and he was in rehab. He would make really loud noises all day long.
The physiotherapist walked by and said, “Shut up, shut up, shut up.”
“This employee was like this quite often and I had to complain about him.
‘He was on the ward and I walked by so that all patients would have heard him too’.