Dear relatives and carers,
I would appreciate it if any of you can help me with some wording as I am feeling so exasperated at the moment and lost for words.
To explain briefly I am responding to the PHSO who have been dismissive of my complaint about a hospital trust.
My mother was in hospital 12 times in a 6 month period she had suffered from dementia for about 2 or 3 years before this time but in the year in question she was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and her mental state declined rapidly.
Her admissions were for falls self-neglect repeated UTI’s and by about the 9th admission I was so worried because of her mental state she was in great danger if sent home again and my biggest concern was that she was in a basement flat with a winding stairs she used a walking stick and had been assessed for and awarded a wheelchair although she was unable to use it for obvious reasons and she would often forget her walking stick due to her lack of mental capacity but actually it was probably more dangerous trying to use the stairs with the stick. Every time she used them, which she would do often due to wondering off a lot her life was literally in danger.
Throughout the 6 month period she was and has been since in a constant state of hallucination. I would plead with doctors not to send her home in that state and was told by one doctor that there would be an MDT meeting before her next discharge, only to go back the following day and to be told that there had been a change of plan and we are discharging her tomorrow. No MDT meeting. (I have since found out that they did have one but did not include me)
One discharge they didn't notify me, and she turned up back at the hospital later that same day after a fall she didn't even remember that she had been discharged that morning.
I did not expect to win my PHSO case as I understand it from research they rarely find in favour of the complainant and are really there as a back up service to the trust.
I am a huge fan of the Alzheimer’s Society as they have helped me so much in sign posting me to help about my mother.
And that is why I find it so upsetting and frustrating that the PHSO should quote the Alzheimer’s Society in backing up their findings.
In answering my complaint that my mother was denied and advocate to speak on her behalf i.e., me being the obvious as NOK or failing that a mental capacity advocate as per her rights under the mental capacity act 2005.
They quote the Alzheimer’s Society as follows,
‘The Alzheimer Society explains that is important to be ‘aware that the mental capacity of a person with dementia can change over time, both in the short and long term. As an example, there might be days or even times of the day when they are able to think more clearly than others, so a person may have capacity at some times and lack it at others’
I know that my post my raise many other questions that have already been addressed so all I want to do and all that is left for me is to speak up on her behalf just to get the truth out there. Not just for her but for other’s who may have experience this.
As we don’t have an Ombudsman service as they are far from impartial and nearly always back up the trust.
I would appreciate it if any of you can help me with some wording as I am feeling so exasperated at the moment and lost for words.
To explain briefly I am responding to the PHSO who have been dismissive of my complaint about a hospital trust.
My mother was in hospital 12 times in a 6 month period she had suffered from dementia for about 2 or 3 years before this time but in the year in question she was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and her mental state declined rapidly.
Her admissions were for falls self-neglect repeated UTI’s and by about the 9th admission I was so worried because of her mental state she was in great danger if sent home again and my biggest concern was that she was in a basement flat with a winding stairs she used a walking stick and had been assessed for and awarded a wheelchair although she was unable to use it for obvious reasons and she would often forget her walking stick due to her lack of mental capacity but actually it was probably more dangerous trying to use the stairs with the stick. Every time she used them, which she would do often due to wondering off a lot her life was literally in danger.
Throughout the 6 month period she was and has been since in a constant state of hallucination. I would plead with doctors not to send her home in that state and was told by one doctor that there would be an MDT meeting before her next discharge, only to go back the following day and to be told that there had been a change of plan and we are discharging her tomorrow. No MDT meeting. (I have since found out that they did have one but did not include me)
One discharge they didn't notify me, and she turned up back at the hospital later that same day after a fall she didn't even remember that she had been discharged that morning.
I did not expect to win my PHSO case as I understand it from research they rarely find in favour of the complainant and are really there as a back up service to the trust.
I am a huge fan of the Alzheimer’s Society as they have helped me so much in sign posting me to help about my mother.
And that is why I find it so upsetting and frustrating that the PHSO should quote the Alzheimer’s Society in backing up their findings.
In answering my complaint that my mother was denied and advocate to speak on her behalf i.e., me being the obvious as NOK or failing that a mental capacity advocate as per her rights under the mental capacity act 2005.
They quote the Alzheimer’s Society as follows,
‘The Alzheimer Society explains that is important to be ‘aware that the mental capacity of a person with dementia can change over time, both in the short and long term. As an example, there might be days or even times of the day when they are able to think more clearly than others, so a person may have capacity at some times and lack it at others’
I know that my post my raise many other questions that have already been addressed so all I want to do and all that is left for me is to speak up on her behalf just to get the truth out there. Not just for her but for other’s who may have experience this.
As we don’t have an Ombudsman service as they are far from impartial and nearly always back up the trust.
