A WOMAN patient on the same hospital ward as Sheila Patterson, who was found dead by her daughter while nurses chatted nearby, has claimed the ward was sometimes left unattended for up to 30 minutes.

The Royal United Hospital, Bath, is still investigating the circumstances surrounding Mrs Patterson's death on May 2 on Victoria Ward.

Mrs Patterson, 73, of Forest Lane House residential home, in Chippenham, was found dead by her daughter, Melony Elder when she went to visit.

She disputes a nurse's claim that her mother had been checked ten minutes earlier and believes she must have been dead for sometime.

The woman patient, from Melksham, who wants to remain anonymous, said she did not know when Mrs Patterson had been checked, but she did know the ward was inefficient at times.

"At the changeover period during the day, the ward was left unattended sometimes for 20 to 30 minutes," she said. "This seems amazing to me particularly on a ward of elderly patients."

She said many of the nurses on the ward were foreign and not fluent in English. "Some of the nurses were very efficient and others were not as efficient. It changed depending on the shift," she said.

The woman said she remembers seeing Mrs Patterson. "When I past by her she looked very frail and old. It looked to the untrained eye like she was dying," she said.