MUM HAD SERIOUS FALL AT CARE HOME ...

[SERENA50]

Falls are almost impossible to prevent. You can be stood right next to someone when they fall and not be able to stop it. As mobility decreases with dementia falls are, unfortunately, more likely. My mum had several falls in her care home - mostly she was no more than shaken, but on one occasion she broke her wrist and then, later on, she broke her hip. She wasnt taking any medication to calm her down, it was just that her mobility was in decline. My OH is also falling a lot. He is at home and I cant prevent falls here either. Both of them were referred to the falls clinic, but they could not suggest anything that would help. Both OH and mum are/were supposed to use a walking frame , but neither of them do/did, despite reminders, due to the conviction that they dont/didnt need them

Falls are really not easy to manage with dementia.

Hi

Dad is pretty much the same. He has a walker, neatly folded up in the corner of the room. Walking stick, left at the side as he doesn't want to get dependant on them and he doesn't really need them, of course he needs them lol . He should really be using them but you cannot reason . My OH will say bring him here and I say how would it be any better? I cannot stop him falling, he could fall right next to me! our house is no better in that way than his own. At least it is familiar to him. He won't have the phone next to him, insists on rushing to answer from his rise and recline chair at the other side of the room and then complains that the rise and recline chair is just not comfortable so back he is in his favourite seat which he has taken out the booster cushions and he cannot get out of it easily as it is the end of a sofa so only one arm to pull himself up. We have re-arranged furniture before now only to have to put it all back again lol. Yesterday an office chair was a solution (dad has so many random chairs donated or should I say off loaded on to him by others as he used to like getting anything for free) which would be even worse than what he is currently using to be fair. It literally is despite having OT out etc an accident just waiting to happen sadly.

 

[Roman223]

How is your mum after her operation now @Roman223 ?

Hello canary: I was going to do an update. Mum had her surgery yesterday am. She was back on the ward early afternoon. I haven't been to see her yet. The nurse said she did'nt want to eat or drink yesterday but has eaten a little today. She is still in a lot of pain when moving her so she will be nursed in bed! I note that no one ie/Manager from the CH have even bothered to ring me ....! Thank you for thinking of her! x

 

[Roman223]

Now that I understand that your mum was left alone on the floor after her fall, I would be very angry and upset as you are. Someone should have been with your mum al the time and you should have been contacted immediately. Even though it put extra work on the rest of the care team, my mum had someone with her until the paramedics arrived to help her into bed. Once the night team ended their shift, the care home manager sat with mum to allow the dat team to carry on with breakfasts etc. I was first phoned at 4.10am although I was asleep with my phone on silent so not helpful really!

I think if I was you I would chase up the safeguarding referral and possibly be questioning if this is the right place for mum. Luckily we do have confidence in the quality of care mum gets but we constantly touch base with the senior carers so we can work together in mums best interests. For example this week we bought a new style of non split drinking cup to see if that would help mum to drink without a Carer sitting with her for a couple of hours to remind her to drink and mop up the spills when she threw the cup at them! They do provide cups of course but had tried every type they had so we did some research and were able to get something very quickly.

I don’t think I would leave mum there if I did not have every confidence in the quality of her care - I would guess that mum is the most demanding and time consuming resident they have!

Now that I understand that your mum was left alone on the floor after her fall, I would be very angry and upset as you are. Someone should have been with your mum al the time and you should have been contacted immediately. Even though it put extra work on the rest of the care team, my mum had someone with her until the paramedics arrived to help her into bed. Once the night team ended their shift, the care home manager sat with mum to allow the dat team to carry on with breakfasts etc. I was first phoned at 4.10am although I was asleep with my phone on silent so not helpful really!

I think if I was you I would chase up the safeguarding referral and possibly be questioning if this is the right place for mum. Luckily we do have confidence in the quality of care mum gets but we constantly touch base with the senior carers so we can work together in mums best interests. For example this week we bought a new style of non split drinking cup to see if that would help mum to drink without a Carer sitting with her for a couple of hours to remind her to drink and mop up the spills when she threw the cup at them! They do provide cups of course but had tried every type they had so we did some research and were able to get something very quickly.

I don’t think I would leave mum there if I did not have every confidence in the quality of her care - I would guess that mum is the most demanding and time consuming resident they have!

Lynmax: I'm trying to build myself to ring the CH and try and establish what happened! I'm unsure what to say. My mind is all over the place with what's happened. I have questioned this CH to the SW time and time again but each time she has defended the CH. I feel like I am on my own and in battle both with the CH and Social Services. Mum fell in the dining room. Amongst possibly 8/10 residents. When I got there she was on the floor with her right leg pointing outwards which I knew then that she had broken sumthing! No carers were sat with her. They were just walking about - I sat with her and comforted her until the ambulance arrived. Safeguarding Referral? Is that Social Services? Thank you for your post. Sorry if I have waffled.

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

SS will do the safeguarding referral to find out what happened, then they will report back to you. (This will be a different person/department, not the SW you've crossed swords with before). If they think any action is needed, i.e. a change to how the care home do things they will also tell you this and ask your opinions. At least, that's what happened in my mum's case though that was slightly different as another person was involved.

I was very satisfied that they had checked everything out and was also quite amazed that they actually consulted me.

I'm very surprised there wasn't a carer staying with your mum after the fall. I would have thought that was a basic thing, to make sure she wasn't in need of further attention or to prevent her hurting herself further. You can't just leave an old lady on the floor by herself after she's fallen!

 

[Yishyee]

Lynmax: I'm trying to build myself to ring the CH and try and establish what happened! I'm unsure what to say. My mind is all over the place with what's happened. I have questioned this CH to the SW time and time again but each time she has defended the CH. I feel like I am on my own and in battle both with the CH and Social Services. Mum fell in the dining room. Amongst possibly 8/10 residents. When I got there she was on the floor with her right leg pointing outwards which I knew then that she had broken sumthing! No carers were sat with her. They were just walking about - I sat with her and comforted her until the ambulance arrived. Safeguarding Referral? Is that Social Services? Thank you for your post. Sorry if I have waffled.

Hi I am so sorry to hear your mother had a fall in the CH and to be left lying on the floor without a Carer sitting by her side is totally unacceptable. Have you written to the CH regarding this? I found when dad was in his CH if I wrote letter, copy to SW, Head Office of CH etc, they dealt with the situation and involved all the relevant parties and I got a written reply. This also goes into your mums file where if further down the line you decided on moving her or wanted to take the complaints further you have it all in writing. Yes falls do happen, my dad had a few, in his head he wanted to move but his legs didn’t! But for your mother to have been left on the floor on her own with carers walking around I find quite distressing. Did you speak to the CH? What explanation did they give? I wonder if it had just happened and they were moving other residents away but even then you would think someone would have been comforting her she must have been so confused. How is your mum? Is she in hospital? I found when my dad was in hospital, on numerous occasions, the CH never called me to ask about dad although I kept in touch with one particular carer who had a great bond with dad. What I did find out was that the hospital were unable to inform the CH of the patients condition, only next of kin could be informed (how can this be?) but this doesn’t excuse them for not calling the residents family to find out how they are. CH were only contacted when the resident would be discharged. My dad was in the home for 3 years and after he passed away I never even got a letter or a phone call from the CH to pass on their condolences, disgusting. I hope your mum is doing ok and you’ve managed to get some answers,. Take care X

 

[Roman223]

Hello

Hi I am so sorry to hear your mother had a fall in the CH and to be left lying on the floor without a Carer sitting by her side is totally unacceptable. Have you written to the CH regarding this? I found when dad was in his CH if I wrote letter, copy to SW, Head Office of CH etc, they dealt with the situation and involved all the relevant parties and I got a written reply. This also goes into your mums file where if further down the line you decided on moving her or wanted to take the complaints further you have it all in writing. Yes falls do happen, my dad had a few, in his head he wanted to move but his legs didn’t! But for your mother to have been left on the floor on her own with carers walking around I find quite distressing. Did you speak to the CH? What explanation did they give? I wonder if it had just happened and they were moving other residents away but even then you would think someone would have been comforting her she must have been so confused. How is your mum? Is she in hospital? I found when my dad was in hospital, on numerous occasions, the CH never called me to ask about dad although I kept in touch with one particular carer who had a great bond with dad. What I did find out was that the hospital were unable to inform the CH of the patients condition, only next of kin could be informed (how can this be?) but this doesn’t excuse them for not calling the residents family to find out how they are. CH were only contacted when the resident would be discharged. My dad was in the home for 3 years and after he passed away I never even got a letter or a phone call from the CH to pass on their condolences, disgusting. I hope your mum is doing ok and you’ve managed to get some answers,. Take care X

Hello Yishyee: I hope all is well with you? My mum is ok. She is being nursed in bed as she is not mobile. Her knee is causing her a lot of pain. At present she needs assistance with eating and drinking and the hospital have put in a referral for a nursing home! She has had some physio but I think she finds it difficult to understand so has not really taken to it. I am hoping to see her this week so will update further. Thank you for replying. X

 

[Aprilgirl]

Thank you for all your replies and for trying to reassure me! I am however frantic, nervous and everything else as I'm really scared for mum!! She's never broken anything in her life. She is 86 yrs old. I wonder if she is going to cope! You all have your stories to share with relatives and yes we are all pretty much in the same 'storm'! However distressing and choppy it is. x

 

[Aprilgirl]

Hi, I am very sorry to read what you , and others , are going through. And I understand.
Cant find the right words (so many emotions ! ..), but stay strong, remember you are doing all you can , and you need to be kind to yourself too . Take care and sending Love to you, and your dear Mum. xx. Sue

 

[Roman223]

Hi, I am very sorry to read what you , and others , are going through. And I understand.
Cant find the right words (so many emotions ! ..), but stay strong, remember you are doing all you can , and you need to be kind to yourself too . Take care and sending Love to you, and your dear Mum. xx. Sue

Hello Sue,
Just read what you put and I thank you for your kind words and thoughts. It does make me feel quite overwhelmed. x

 

[Jessbow]

How is she now?

 

[Roman223]

How is she now?

Hi Jessbow. My mum is back in hospital after dislocating her new hip!! She is doing ok. Although has a chest infection now. They've had her sat out in the chair just to make sure it doesn't dislocate again. x

 

[YetAnotherDaughter]

My mum has had 5 falls in 5 days, 3 of them resulting in a&e admissions, which are very confusing for her and feed into her delirium.
As I understand it, she is no longer weight bearing at all.
What if anything can be done?
Does anyone have experience of these Aquarelle systems?

 

[canary]

Hello @YetAnotherDaughter
Im afraid that I have not heard of an Aquarelle system, but as your mum is now non weight bearing them she will needs hoists to move her.