hospitals are really not equipped for people with dementia!

[Norman]

I cannot understand why people do not seem to understand the complaints procedure?
In the past it was the community health council,now it is PALS.
All complaints are logged and discussed at the PCT board meetings,all members involved in the complaint are included in the investigation of the complaint.
As a past chairman of a CHC,I confirm that complaints are taken very seriously,and pursued until all parties are satisfied.

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Managingyou...aintspolicy/NHSComplaintsProcedure/DH_4087428

http://www.pals.nhs.uk/cmsContentView.aspx?Itemid=944
Norman

 

[Barneyd]

Hi. I'm new to this but can share your experiences. Let me introduce my circs. My mother is 85yrs and had Alzheimers for I don't know 6 -7 yrs maybe longer just thought she was getting eccentric in old age. My sister first twigged but lived in Italy and told us what to do. She was a biochemist and knew what medication available in Italy. We went to GP. He advised just aging nothing he could do. My sister came home 3 weeks later spoke to him in jargon and she had a home visit from the consultant 2 days later (before he went on holiday) and a 3 month supply of Aricept. She's been on Aricept since and managed to live at home alone with the support of family and some minimal carer input.Here's the rub. In April she slipped whist out walking with my daughter and broke her femur.She waited on morphine for 5 days before her op as theater had backlog.Operation to pin femur. Same scenario -too many patients not enough staff and although she was on observation ward she fell again when she got up to go to the toilet forgetting she was catheterized or had broken her leg.Another operation, another broken femur- a plate fitted. We were then told she may not be able to go to rehab ward as she was not cooperating with physio. I arranged to leave work early (nobody outside the NHS appears to be allowed to have a job and commitments but we didn't mind)and encourage her to cooperate. She did and went to another hospital - rehab ward. Same probs not cooperating with physios. Same solution but little improvement until another x ray revealed plate was not set - screws worked free due to mam's osteoporosis. Back to hospital 1 - another operation - back to rehab. Surprise that her dementia had deteriorated? Also, occasions when no Aricept prescribed. Which brings me to now. My mother sits in a chair on a rehab ward all day unless she is taken to the toilet. Still difficulties with physio and same solution but now saying she hasn't got the capacity to absorb info so physio ending - which I've objected to. Hospital saying that she cannot now be safely discharged owing to risk of falling without 24/7 care - which is agreed but unable to provide any info re independent living or employing carers etc to maintain her independence/dignity - only solution being advised is residential nursing care which my mother does not seem to want. That's my rant - can anyone offer advice/share experiences?

 

[lady racer]

hospitals are really not equipped for people with dementia

Dear Suzanna
I sympathise with you totally, i am a manager in a nursing home looking after people with dementia,i absolutely dread it when i have to send someone to hospital they just dont seem to understand. Its about time hospitals realised that people with dementia are more vulnerable, they need care, understanding and patience. I dont often rant but i do get so annoyed with what hospitals get away with,as for lack of resources every time i have been to my local hosp to do an assessment there has been at least 6 members of staff and none of them appear to know anything. We need to go back to the days when all staff looked after the patients unlike now where they are allocated to a certain member of staff. Care homes get a lot of bad publisity and for those that are bad that is a good thing, but when are hospitals going to become accountable for the lack of care they give to people with dementia.
Sorry but its how i feel.
lady racer

 

[sue38]

Hi Barneyd,

Welcome to TP. I'm sorry to hear about your mum, it sounds like you have both been through an horrific time. Does your mum have a social worker? If she is in hospital you should (I think) be able to call on the hospital social worker for help in sorting out long term care for your mum.

Your first post may have got a bit lost in this thread. I hope others with better experience will be along to offer advice.

Ladyracer,

I'm afraid you work in a field where a few bad reports mean you all get tarred with the same brush . It's good to hear from a NH manager who recognises (and cares enough to rant about!)the damaging effects a short stay in hospital can have for a dementia sufferer.

I heard on the news today that the NHS in England is set to have a 1.75bn surplus this year. How much do we think will be spent on improving the care dementia patients receive in hospital?

 

[Legion]

Hi
I dont know if this will help at all but there is one other way of logging a complaint with a hospital (and it sounds as if the more complaints are logged the more notice will be taken by the hospitals). NHS choices website allows you to rate your hospital by giving details of your experiences. The website is open to all and is supposed to be used to compare hospitals with each other. I've checked it out and our local hospital responds pretty quick to any comments which are negative.

http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/homepage.aspx

best wishes