TWO more families have come forward with complaints after the Echo revealed a doctor at an Exeter hospital had faced a disciplinary procedure.

The Echo previously revealed that Dr Sarah Black, who works at Franklyn Hospital, in St Thomas, had faced disciplinary action after her employer, Devon Partnership Trust, received more than one complaint about her.

The Echo has since been contacted by two more families who were not satisfied following their dealings with Dr Black.

Wendy Gidley, of St Leonard's, Exeter, said her husband Louis was admitted to Franklyn under Dr Black's care last April.

Dr Black diagnosed Mr Gidley with Alzheimer's disease and gave him antipsychotic drug Risperidone. The family say Mr Gidley's health started to decline rapidly.

Mrs Gidley said: "His neck became so bent his head was resting on his chest. He shuffled rather than walked. The sudden change in my dear husband was horrific for me to see. I tried to tell Dr Black that I was concerned but his medication was not changed until some weeks later."

The family also claim Dr Black then took Mr Gidley, 73, off doxasosin, a drug he had taken for many years because of prostate problems. Mrs Gidley says he became very uncomfortable, needing the toilet all the time. At the same time his mobility deteriorated and he became unable to get to the toilet on time, which distressed him. Mrs Gidley claims incontinence pads were rarely provided.

Mrs Gidley then asked for her husband to be treated by a different doctor. Mr Gidley was taken off Risperidone and his health improved.

"He was out of this world for nearly three months and seeing him like that made my own life so unbearably miserable," said Mrs Gidley.

"When he was off Risperidone I would find Lou shuffling along the corridor awake and knowing me and even greeting me."

In July, Mrs Gidley hired a solicitor to help get her husband out of Franklyn, but a month later he was still there and Mrs Gidley claims Dr Black suggested she see a professional colleague about anger issues.

Mr Gidley was not discharged for several months, during which time it is understood Dr Black tried to section him. Mrs Gidley said: "At the time I was a frazzled wreck with the worry and desperation."

The Echo was also contacted by Kathy Oxenham, of St Thomas, Exeter, whose mother Ellen Dempsey, 65, was treated by Dr Black before going into a specialised nursing home. She said hers was one of the complaints that had led to Dr Black's disciplinary action late last year.

"I have told them that I think Dr Black caused irreversible damage to my mum," she said. "I want Echo readers to know there is not just one complaint about Dr Black. I believe the trust needs to look again in light of the complaints.

"In my mum's case Dr Black took her off the anti-Alzheimer's drug Aricept because my mum had become agitated. She said she didn't realise a different doctor had previously reduced my mum's anti-depressants, but it was in her notes. I think Dr Black thought she was doing the best thing, but the decline in my mum without Aricept was awful and that's a part of her we'll never get back."

Medical director Dr David Somerfield said the trust was taking the complaints seriously. He added: "We have already taken appropriate action with the consultant concerned and we are looking closely at what can be done to develop the care we deliver at Franklyn, which has a very good team of staff and generally provides excellent care for older people.

"We took disciplinary action with the consultant. We are satisfied that our action was appropriate but, as with any disciplinary action, failure to improve will result in an escalation of the process, which can ultimately result in dismissal."

He added that the trust wanted to allow staff to spend as much time as possible caring for people, and had appointed other staff to help them with other duties.