A former Mayor of Dudley has described staff as ‘feral’ during a blistering attack on Russells Hall Hospital.

Cllr Ian Kettle pulled no punches as he told of his experiences when his wife was an inpatient at the hospital between September and Christmas last year.

The outspoken councillor launched his broadside during a debate at a meeting of Dudley Council’s Health Select Committee on July 23.

Cllr Kettle said: “I was up at Russells Hall twice daily for nigh-on three months, I think I had a fair experience of what I saw and frankly it’s frightening.

“You rarely see management on the wards. Saturdays and Sundays – I think the staff are feral. If I could have got my wife into a car with the right medication on several occasions on a weekend I’d have taken her home for her own safety.”

Karen Kelly, deputy chief executive at Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are sorry to hear of the experience Cllr Kettle described as we aim to provide the very best care and treatment to all of our patients. 

“We have rotas for 24-hour cover, seven days per week which always includes senior shift leads and if concerns are raised to us, about anyone’s behaviour, these are always fully investigated.”

Cllr Kettle told the committee his account was ‘brutal’ and went on to say he was given two phone numbers to call to check on his wife’s condition but on one occasion got no answer on either line.

Cllr Kettle said: “By nine o’clock I got up to Russells Hall, walked into the ward and was accosted by a sister – ‘what are you doing here?’. I said I have come to see how my wife is.”

After he was asked why he didn’t phone, Cllr Kettle said the sister claimed he must have the wrong numbers.  

He added: “I came back later with the same numbers and showed the sister, all I got was a blank face, these were the genuine numbers and nobody was answering. I use the term contrived incompetence and it’s frightening.”