Mobility lost due to being treated as bed bound in hospital

[spirituscorpus]

This is as much of a rant as a plea for guidance.

Mum has been in hospital just over two weeks now after a bout of pneumonia. This seems to have gone but in all that time she has been in bed.

I have never been there when the physios attend to her and my questions as to how often she is seen and what is done when she is seen are vague.
Mum had reasonable mobility before going into hospital. She lived in her own house and moved around (without a zimmer frame) only needing a stair lift. She would go for walks outside with me linking her arm in mine.

She's recently been moved to a new ward and this new ward haven't given her a chair to sit in. The last ward she was in she was assisted to sit for a while each day which I felt was a marginal improvement over lying in a bed 24/7.

When I ask the ward staff about her mobility they reassure me that the physio team attends regularly and they always help the patients to walk a few steps etc. However, I found out today that this is completely misleading as my mother was attended by the physios twice in the last five days and each time she refused physio treatment. I didn't even know this nor did I know that when a patient shows reluctance to participate then they simply withdraw support.

I totally accept they cannot force someone but I had thought they might be a bit more sensitive to the needs of dementia patients.

Surely it is easier for someone to be encouraged to stand with assistance when they are in a seated position in a chair rather than lying prone in a bed (possibly sleeping when approached by physio)

It is so frustrating feeling that my mother CAN walk but is being treated as if she were bed bound

 

[nic001]

This is as much of a rant as a plea for guidance.

Mum has been in hospital just over two weeks now after a bout of pneumonia. This seems to have gone but in all that time she has been in bed.

I have never been there when the physios attend to her and my questions as to how often she is seen and what is done when she is seen are vague.
Mum had reasonable mobility before going into hospital. She lived in her own house and moved around (without a zimmer frame) only needing a stair lift. She would go for walks outside with me linking her arm in mine.

She's recently been moved to a new ward and this new ward haven't given her a chair to sit in. The last ward she was in she was assisted to sit for a while each day which I felt was a marginal improvement over lying in a bed 24/7.

When I ask the ward staff about her mobility they reassure me that the physio team attends regularly and they always help the patients to walk a few steps etc. However, I found out today that this is completely misleading as my mother was attended by the physios twice in the last five days and each time she refused physio treatment. I didn't even know this nor did I know that when a patient shows reluctance to participate then they simply withdraw support.

I totally accept they cannot force someone but I had thought they might be a bit more sensitive to the needs of dementia patients.

Surely it is easier for someone to be encouraged to stand with assistance when they are in a seated position in a chair rather than lying prone in a bed (possibly sleeping when approached by physio)

It is so frustrating feeling that my mother CAN walk but is being treated as if she were bed bound

I guess they can’t force her if she refuses but I wonder if it would be helpful if you asked if the physio can telephone you? That way you could put them in the picture about how mobile mum was before and it might help them to encourage her to be mobile again. Good luck x

 

[canary]

Infections do horrible things to people with dementia.
My mum got pneumonia and ended up in hospital. She did not lose her mobility, but she was never the same afterwards

 

[sdmhred]

I’m so sorry @spirituscorpus but this is such a common story 😢😢

When my mum had a 5 week admission I was there getting her to do basic physio exercises, and we did pay for some private physio post admission which kept her mobile for a good 18months.

My friend Is a hospital physio for the elderly. She says she despairs as she has so many patients and she knows she could do so much good, but doesn’t have time.

I would insist she has a chair however. I’ve never known a hospital ward without a chair for patients. Once she is in the chair you can then encourage her to do sit stands etc if she is deemed safe enough…

 

[Eddcorner]

This is as much of a rant as a plea for guidance.

Mum has been in hospital just over two weeks now after a bout of pneumonia. This seems to have gone but in all that time she has been in bed.

I have never been there when the physios attend to her and my questions as to how often she is seen and what is done when she is seen are vague.
Mum had reasonable mobility before going into hospital. She lived in her own house and moved around (without a zimmer frame) only needing a stair lift. She would go for walks outside with me linking her arm in mine.

She's recently been moved to a new ward and this new ward haven't given her a chair to sit in. The last ward she was in she was assisted to sit for a while each day which I felt was a marginal improvement over lying in a bed 24/7.

When I ask the ward staff about her mobility they reassure me that the physio team attends regularly and they always help the patients to walk a few steps etc. However, I found out today that this is completely misleading as my mother was attended by the physios twice in the last five days and each time she refused physio treatment. I didn't even know this nor did I know that when a patient shows reluctance to participate then they simply withdraw support.

I totally accept they cannot force someone but I had thought they might be a bit more sensitive to the needs of dementia patients.

Surely it is easier for someone to be encouraged to stand with assistance when they are in a seated position in a chair rather than lying prone in a bed (possibly sleeping when approached by physio)

It is so frustrating feeling that my mother CAN walk but is being treated as if she were bed bound

On my mum's last hospital admission (fifteen months ago now) staff refused to get her out of the bed until a physio & OT assessment was completed. She was often left to 'cabbage' in a side room lying on wet open pads whilst they attempted to feed her at a fifteen degree inclination with... and I remember this scene vividly melted ice cream dribbling out of the corner of her mouth. I was not a happy bunny 😡 Staff were amazed that once I had got mum out of the bed (by myself) and attended to her personal needs she was able to feed herself! She went from corpse-like to fully animated in the space of thirty minutes... apparently mum also wasn't taking fluids on board and her mouth was all gummed up too :/ I had no such issues with drinks and despite repeated handovers by myself and reassurances they would act on my instructions..? Nada! I pushed for her discharge and it was only on the day I needed an OT/Physio to sign off did they attend. I honestly believe if we hadn't managed to get her out that day the damage would have been irreparable, I literally had to bang the drums and make a professional nuisance of myself. I can only relate our own personal experiences but having been a clinician for almost two decades (in a former life)... urk!!! I made sure I was there at the start right thru to the end of every day to ensure her needs were being met - more often than not by myself. Total empathy here 💚

 

[Chizz]

Hi @spirituscorpus

I was sorry to read your post. I have been through this with my OH, and it didn't end well.

Hospital staff are not all trained to deal with a PWD. They don't have enough time to ascertain what your mum can or cannot understand or do. As they don't have time, they don't listen and it's easier just to write down "bedbound" . Staff seeing this on her notes or above her bed then act accordingly, and assume your mum can't mobilise and so they don't try to get her up. They assume she will use a bedpan or a pad and won't help her to the toilet. Everything follows on.
From your mum's point of view - she's in an unfamiliar place, with lots of people doing lots of things and it noisy and confusing, with unfamiliar people trying to tell her what to do, so she is resistant. They don't speak slowly enough to allow your mum to process what is being said. There's strange food, she may or may not like. A strange bed, strange lighting, etc etc.

If you want to, please have a look at my post dated Feb12th on the thread "Medically fit for discharge" - it's a bit of a long read, and not pleasant.

I know life is difficult, but s there any way you can be with your mum to push the staff, the physio, etc to try and keep your mum mobile as much as poss. The alternative has turned our lives upside down!
Best wishes.

 

[spirituscorpus]

Hi @spirituscorpus

I was sorry to read your post. I have been through this with my OH, and it didn't end well.

Hospital staff are not all trained to deal with a PWD. They don't have enough time to ascertain what your mum can or cannot understand or do. As they don't have time, they don't listen and it's easier just to write down "bedbound" . Staff seeing this on her notes or above her bed then act accordingly, and assume your mum can't mobilise and so they don't try to get her up. They assume she will use a bedpan or a pad and won't help her to the toilet. Everything follows on.
From your mum's point of view - she's in an unfamiliar place, with lots of people doing lots of things and it noisy and confusing, with unfamiliar people trying to tell her what to do, so she is resistant. They don't speak slowly enough to allow your mum to process what is being said. There's strange food, she may or may not like. A strange bed, strange lighting, etc etc.

If you want to, please have a look at my post dated Feb12th on the thread "Medically fit for discharge" - it's a bit of a long read, and not pleasant.

I know life is difficult, but s there any way you can be with your mum to push the staff, the physio, etc to try and keep your mum mobile as much as poss. The alternative has turned our lives upside down!
Best wishes.

I am in a slightly different position as my mother is 95 and I do think this is increasingly a factor in how she is dealt with by the hospital.

I am there twice a day to bring food as she is refusing all hospital food.

She was transferred recently to a new ward. The previous one told me that she would have a protein drink after I had asked them repeatedly but the new ward know nothing about this and I feel my requests are falling on deaf ears.

I have observed staff in other wards encourage patients to wee themselves as they have pads and even when this isn't happening a toileting request can result in a 40 minute wait which conditions the patient to wee themselves anyway.

One of the discharge nurses told me mum was incontinent and I told her she absolutely is not. Two weeks ago she was walking around her own house and using her stair lift whenever she needed the loo.

Am I even allowed to try and mobilise my mother by myself when I am there or would the staff try to stop me?

 

[Chizz]

Am I even allowed to try and mobilise my mother by myself when I am there or would the staff try to stop me?

Hi @spirituscorpus

It's all about health and safety. Yes you can try and help your mum to get up and sit in a chair, or to walk, whether to the toilet or up and down the ward for physio, but as you can imagine the hosp staff will have a lot to say if you mum does fall. Be careful, Best wishes.