NEGLECT, indifference and a total lack of care is how one family describe their father's experiences as a patient at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

Frail and ill with bowel problems, 80-year-old James McArthur, from Malvern, was, say his relatives, "just left to cope".

Fearing his alarm calls would be ignored, Mr McArthur has been getting to the bathroom to clean himself up under his own steam.

Although he struggles to walk, he says he can get there, clean up and be back in bed in the time it takes nurses to respond to the alarm.

His son Duncan McArthur described the attitude of nurses as "indifferent".

"He's not the sort of person to make a fuss and complain but the nursing care seems to amount to ignoring him," he added.

Mr McArthur, a former Malvern Hills Conservators warden and the man who named Millennium Hill, was admitted to hospital just before Christmas for observation and tests.

After witnessing his treatment, the family have written to the hospital administrators to complain.

His daughter Karen Pickell, visiting from America, said: "No wonder so many elderly patients die in hospital, the neglect is outrageous."

Mr McArthur, who is too weak to turn himself in bed, has developed a bed sore the size of a 50p and lost more than a stone in weight since being admitted.

His family says, despite his condition, there has been no attempt to provide a suitable diet or to help him eat or monitor fluids.

Mrs Pickell and another of Mr McArthur's children, Phillipa Charlesworth, have resorted to taking in food and feeding and caring for him themselves.

Mr McArthur's wife Stephanie is distraught and tearful about leaving her husband alone in the hospital where no-one seems to look after him.

"It's unbelievable really. Like a Third World country," said his son. He added to be kept clean and comfortable is not too much to ask.

Mr McArthur was awaiting the results of further tests this week and his family doesn't know when he will be coming home.

Hospital trust spokesman Richard Haines said staff on the ward were genuinely surprised as the family had not raised any concerns with them.

He described the nurses caring for Mr McArthur as a dedicated team who delivered high quality care.

Mr Haines said the hospital had not received any complaint as yet but would investigate, as with any other complaint, if one was received.