Just checking....

[cragmaid]

...This is not a query as such more a " Has this happened to anyone else"?

I received a copy of a letter to Mum's GP today from the local Dept of Psychiatry in Old Age... under whose auspices Mum has been diagnosed and had her regular MMSE tests and by whom Mum was prescribed Aricept. Anyway, this letter said that since Mum was settled in the home, and had only had one or two flare ups ( flares up??) recently, ( infection related) and that she was not likely to be having her Aricept dosage increased as it was thought to have caused her to suffer brachcardia....they were discharging her back into the care of her GP with the recommendation that she stay on the Aicept for a minimum of a further two years or possibly for life. This to be taken alongside her other medicines including Citoprolam to counter her depression.

I presume this means that we have been sacked by them and that if things become worse (again), she will have to go through the whole referral procedure from scratch.

Does this seem right to you?

 

[zigandzag]

Hi Cragmaid - yes exactly this happened to me/my mom. They also had the cheek to put in the letter that I had agreed to mom being discharged! I only saw the letter as the GP showed it to me - I promptly burst into tears as mom is far from "settled" as they put it.

Our GP wrote a stinking letter to them and my mom was referred back - very quickly. I also complained about the CPN as how cam somebody make a judgement on stability/meds etc when they have hardly visited - we were consequently assigned another one.

So if you're not happy with their actions then talk to your GP and get him to refer your mom back. How on earth can they say that your moms meds will not be reviewed for a further 2 years is beyond me - she needs to be monitored and her meds reviewed by the professionals frequently.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

 

[Noorza]

Once they have established long term care and medication and referred you to the support agencies who can help then in reality there's nothing more they can do.

If you have a crisis though you can call them and get seen. That's how it works here anyway.

 

[Butter]

Once my mother was refered back to the GP the GP took over. And the GP was familiar with residents such as my mother and was able to assess her medication. This was modified on and off according to how my mother was. And the moment I asked for palliative care - it was prescribed.

Sometimes the GP has a broader view and a wider hands-on experience.

 

[Noorza]

Once my mother was refered back to the GP the GP took over. And the GP was familiar with residents such as my mother and was able to assess her medication. This was modified on and off according to how my mother was. And the moment I asked for palliative care - it was prescribed.

Sometimes the GP has a broader view and a wider hands-on experience.

They often know the patient better as well after years of looking after them, so as where the CPN won't know how the patient is acting out of character the GP will.

It's not a bad thing IMO anyway.