A Greenock mum-of-three claims she has been stuck in limbo in Inverclyde Royal for a month with little care from staff.

Louise Archibald, 49, was admitted to hospital after collapsing on a trip to Berlin with her 11-year-old son.

After a week there, German medics said they suspected Louise had an autoimmune disease and she was escorted by a medic on a flight back home.

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Louise’s aunt, Alexis Neary-Phillips, a retired nurse who lives in Wiltshire contacted the Telegraph to raise her concern about the standard of care given to her niece.

Alexis claimed that Louise was nearly given penicillin meant for another patient, even though she’s allergic.

She said: "Louise is still none the wiser about what is going to happen or about her treatment.

"She was nearly given antibiotics that she is allergic to, even though she knew she wasn't to receive antibiotics.

"She told the nurse this, but the nurse insisted.

“It wasn't until she turned the bag of fluid around on the IV drip that she saw another patient's name on it.

"It was penicillin, and she is allergic to it.

"I told her she should report it, when she did, the head nurse just laughed and said ‘mistakes happen’.

"It's as if no one cares about anything."

Inverclyde Royal Hospital, where Louise Archibald has been an in-patient since last month. (Image: Archive)

Louise has been constantly vomiting since she collapsed abroad, and had an endoscopy which showed that she was very inflamed inside.

She couldn't eat as a result, and wasn’t receiving any nourishment – and, according to Alexis, had lost more than a stone until her aunt told her to insist on being peg fed.

She said: "She told me that she'd lost 19lb in weight. I told her she couldn't really afford to lose that.

Louise's aunt Alexis hit out at the standard of care provided to her niece. (Image: Public) (Image: Public)

"She is just not getting the attention she needs.

“It took them so long to feed her. Eventually she was taken to theatre to get an NJ [naso-jejunal] tube, which bypasses the stomach and goes into the intestines.

“She is meant to get bloods taken every day to monitor this and this is not happening.”

(Image: Public)

(Image: Lorraine Tinney)

Louise keeps in touch with her aunt on a daily basis, and Alexis claims that she is frequently missed out on doctor's ward rounds.

Alexis, 64, said: "I'm worried sick about her. I am just so angry that she is being treated like that.

“She has really bad veins, and her arms, legs and feet are full of bruises."

Louise said: "They actually sewed a midline into my arm, which was very painful.

"The first one they put in held with a clip, and the fluids being given to me leaked, so they padded it out with gauze which soaked through until it tissued in my arm with potassium IV, when they finally stopped it and removed it.

"They put so many cannulas in me that I lost count - in my feet, toes, ankles, arms, hands, everywhere.

"They put in a few cannulas using ultrasound, but they didn't last either. 

(Image: Public)

"At one point four different people tried, each three times, to put in a cannula, including into bruised areas.

"I tried to stop a doctor putting a cannula into a bruised lump on my arm by putting my hand over my arm. He smacked the back of my hand and then physically moved my hand."

Alexis is trying to fight her niece’s corner, but says NHS red tape is making it difficult to complain – while Louise, she says, is so weak and in so much pain that she doesn’t have the energy to complain herself.

Louise’s son is being looked after by her mum, Isabella, who also suffers poor health.

Alexis claims that Louise buzzed staff to be taken to the toilet, but was left waiting for so long that she went herself, dragging her IV pole with her.

Alexis says Louise, who has two older sons, aged 19 and 20, fell when she reached the toilet and had to drag herself back to bed, and that while a patient in the next bed buzzed for help, none came for more than an hour.

The final indignity, Alexis said, was when Louise’s food bag burst at night and the contents covered both the bed sheet and her niece’s pyjamas.

Alexis said: "The nurse just covered it with a towel and said the day shift would change it. It's appalling, and that food stinks."

Alexis says Louise intends to make a formal complaint once she feels strong enough to do so.

A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "We cannot comment on individual patient cases due to confidentiality.

“However, we can confirm that we are engaging directly with this patient to provide support and answer her questions. 

“We strive to deliver person-centred care and take all patient feedback seriously.

“We will be reviewing this patient’s experience and have provided them with a direct point of contact at the hospital should she wish to raise any other concerns."