Good morning all. I'm a new member . On 26th February this year, I moved my mum across country into sheltered accommodation . The reasons for this were that my brother was unable to cope and couldn't always get to her in times of emergency. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimers in November last year. She has mild confusion and some memory disruption. The move went really well and she adores her new flat! We spent 4 lovely days arranging her furniture and bits and bobs. On Friday 2nd March, she fell after turning her lights off. Fortunately she was able to remember that she needed to pull the careline cord to raise the alarm. She was taken to hospital where it was confirmed she had a fracture in the neck of her femur. The following day ( her 81st birthday) she had her op. Confusion and upset followed ( to be expected) and on the Thursday she was transfered to a rehabilitation ward at another hospital. Since then she has become far worse. Paranoid, deluded, upset, crying etc. I and my two girls are spending as much time as we can at the hospital as being left on her own makes her anxiety far worse . It takes hours sometimes to get her to smile. Now , the rehabilitation ward is mostly full of elderly patients, many with varying degrees of memory problems . We have completed the This Is Me profile . It was very disconcerting to be asked by a member of staff who had been on the ward for at least 2 days, if my mum had dementia . She then proceeded to tell me infront of 2 other patients, how my mum had hit a nightnurse with the bedside alarm. Another nurse told both my mum and myself that she had called her thick. My mum was mortified at hearing this! She has had her bloods done, all clear , her urine, all clear and I've begged them for a week to get mental health on-board . They now have to wait for an appointment from the main hospital for a CT scan to rule out any brain disfunction before mental health will see her . I have done the dementia friends course and am astounded that most of the staff on the ward have no dementia training or even attended the course yet. I just want my mum to be seen by someone that knows what they are doing and also to make sure that ALL staff are aware of her Alzheimers and treat her accordingly x
Dementia Awareness in hospital
- Thread starter Littlegrandma63
- Start date
My Mum was in hospital recently, she has had dementia for about five years. I didn't expect much but they got me to fill out a form about her, with her likes and dislikes and what frightens her. This was used, as one of the nurses sang to her whilst doing tests etc and it did help a bit.
Your experience is quite common even in hospitals that are dementia friendly. I stayed in with my dad for 2 different 7/10 day stays and some staff are better or more willing to either make the effort or have more interest and common sense.
Hi Helen. Thank you for adding to the thread. I also filled out the This Is Me booklet. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to have been read by just about anyone! I removed it from its plastic folder that it has been placed in and put it back in her care plan file opened so that it can be seen by staff more clearly x
When my ( Now late ) Mum was hospitalise I typed up an A4 sheet, in biggish type and put it above her bed where her name was.
Joan drinks coffee with one sugar.
She likes XYZ, and doesn't like ABC to eat.
Joan cannot see very well.
Please ask simplified questions- Cheese or egg sandwich? ( Rather than what would you like for tea?)
No, the staff thought it a little off ( and took it down more than once) But I kept putting it up again because it did help. She got less stressed ( she didn't like tea for instance and if finding the answer to what you want to drink doesnt come easily, she got less upset)
Joan drinks coffee with one sugar.
She likes XYZ, and doesn't like ABC to eat.
Joan cannot see very well.
Please ask simplified questions- Cheese or egg sandwich? ( Rather than what would you like for tea?)
No, the staff thought it a little off ( and took it down more than once) But I kept putting it up again because it did help. She got less stressed ( she didn't like tea for instance and if finding the answer to what you want to drink doesnt come easily, she got less upset)
