“It shouldn’t be a Russian roulette every time a dementia patient is admitted to hospital"

But sisters Sally-Ann Fowler and Kay Perrett were distraught when their dad who suffers from dementia was receiving ‘dysfunctional care’ in hospital – one year after they lost their mum to the same disease.

They say they discovered their 86-year-old dad Geoff Davis alone with an open gaping wound and on another occasion surrounded by half-open boxes of his medication.

As reported last week, a study by the Alzheimer’s Society revealed dementia sufferers are facing ‘shocking’ variations in the standards of care in hospital.

Sally-Ann and Kay have spoken out about their experiences and now want to highlight the struggles of living with dementia as they prepare to join the charity next month at the House of Commons to ensure no dementia patients are left to suffer.

“Dad received awful treatment when he was in hospital yet our experience with mum in a different hospital was totally different.

“It shouldn’t be a Russian roulette every time a dementia patient is admitted to hospital,” said Sally-Ann.

Geoff, a former Paratrooper and area sales manager, who was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013, was rushed to hospital on February 16 last year after he suffered a fall at home.

He sustained six cracked ribs, a fractured knee cap, cut his elbow, injured his head and punctured his lung.

“He was in a pretty bad way. He had cut himself in quite a few places and was bleeding profusely. We were told if we hadn’t have heard him, he would have died which is a horrible thought.”

However they say during his four week stay in the Dorset hospital they have chosen not to name, their concerns mounted when:

*He was left confused after moving four times to different wards where they say his care had no continuity and there was no communication.

*A procedure to stitch a gaping wound on his elbow was delayed and on one visit they discovered their dad had pulled the dressing off to reveal a wound down to the bone.

*They found him opening boxes of his medication from a carrier bag full of drugs on the table next to his bed.

Kay, 48, who is a full time carer for her dad, said: “Some days he'd be very distressed and begging us to take him home. You didn't know going in what you were going to find.

“We told them enough times he had dementia but we had to endlessly repeat his care requirements. It was a constant head banging battle."

Sally-Ann, 53, who lives in Christchurch, added: “But what about the people who don’t have family or friends and end up in hospital alone? Who helps them? There isn’t anyone to look after them. They are taking advantage of vulnerable people who can't speak out for themselves. We don't hear their stories because they can't tell it themselves and they don't have anyone to tell it for them.

“The NHS need to think about how they can care about dementia patients when they are in hospital. Many people just do not understand dementia."

Sally-Ann and Kay have been forced to face the devastating disease since their mum battled dementia for a decade.

They first noticed she was unwell when she kept repeating questions. She was diagnosed in 2004 aged 72 and became so ill, she was unable to feed herself, became bedbound and incontinent.

Kay moved into her parents' home in Highcliffe to provide care around the clock on top of visits from six specialist health visitors a day before she died in 2014.

In a cruel twist of fate Geoff, who was the captain of Bristol Rugby Club in the 1950s, was diagnosed with the same disease after he kept forgetting his wife of 53 years had died.

"They had a brilliant marriage so for him to watch her go downhill in that way must have been heartbreaking.

"He kept wandering around the house, looking for her and asking where mum was and when she was coming back. We used to have her order of service for her funeral on the wall because he would ask every day for her and he wrote several notes on it, saying Ann, my wife, has died but he would still look at that and wouldn't understand."

Now, despite having a memory wall filled with family pictures, Geoff's condition is progressively getting worse and at times cannot recognise his daughters.

Sally-Ann, said: "For them both to go the same way is devastating. We were always so close and they were always very active.

"Although they are your parents to look at, they are not. "You can't talk to them and you can't look back on memories because they don't remember.

Kay, added: "You lose your parent once when they lose their mind and you lose them again when they actually die so you actually grieve twice but you don't have time to grieve when they are still there because you have to care for them.

"Knowing they are your parents but they don't recognise you is really terrible.

"Your parents spend years looking after you and then it's a complete role reversal. They become like children.

"It really is a heartbreaking disease but though it is hard, dad still has happy moments when he reads the newspaper or watches something on TV, or drinks his 'special beer' which is really just squash and his face just lights up. It's the little things like that which are wonderful to see but can make a real difference to someone living with dementia and that is why we are 100 per cent behind the Fix Dementia Care campaign."