A vulnerable pensioner was left sitting in filthy conditions by nurses at a Midlands hospital, it has been claimed.

The family of 71-year-old Glenys Hampson have hit out at the standard of care at Dudley’s Russells Hall Hospital following a series of failures there.

Bosses at the hospital trust today said they were sorry standards fell short and have launched an investigation into what happened.

Mrs Hampson, of Stourbridge, was admitted to hospital with a brain injury after collapsing on a bus at the start of June.

Her family claim she was left “distressed, dishevelled and lacking in dignity”.

In the worst incident her son Andrew Swain, from Quinton, Birmingham, says he found his mother lying in her own soiled sheets. He said her treatment has improved significantly since making the complaint, but felt problems with her care should be highlighted.

He said: “The stench was appalling, the loss of dignity and humiliation beyond belief. ”

Mrs Hampson also suffered a fall in the hospital when she tried to get out of bed but her family were not informed until the next day as the hospital had lost the emergency contact number.

The family has also criticised the failure of nurses or consultants on ward B3 to spot a deterioration in Mrs Hampson’s condition and only carried out a second CT scan when the family complained. She was then rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for emergency surgery due to bleeding in the brain.

A consultant at the QE later told the family a further delay could have proven fatal.

Mr Swain said: “I was disgusted and shocked by the way she was treated.”

Mr Swain emailed his complaint directly to the chief executive of the hospital Paula Clark. He said: “Since I complained the care has been superb, I can’t fault them.”

Chief executive Paula Clark confirmed the trust was investigating the incidents, adding: “We regularly reassess staffing levels to ensure we are able to provide appropriate care to patients. We are sorry if on this occasion our standards fell short of those we aim to provide.”