My Dad is in Hospital and refusing to cooperate

Julie2

Registered User
Sep 4, 2015
1
0
Hi, My 82 year old Dad has been in hospital for 6 days and is getting worse and not allowing doctors near him.He originally went in with a suspected UTI ? Constipation? He did allow 2 blood tests in first few days and was put on IV antibiotics. Unfortunately, it was over the bank holiday so results were delayed and his aggression has now become so bad that he has refused subsequent blood tests for the past 2 days and examination by doctors despite them trying about 6 times. Tonight we noticed his stomach has started to bloat and he is in real pain.He has refused to get back into bed despite our best efforts to persuade him and have had to leave him in a chair.I have spoken to the night staff re my fears of this being connected to his Prostate cancer causing urine retention but if he is trying to fight with the staff they cannot scan his bladder and I honestly dont think they could put a catheter in.
Does anyone have any experience of when a patients best interest comes into play and what they are allowed to do to help him? It was absolutely heartbreaking tonight and going into the weekend again the nurses said that any decisions re anti aggressive medication could not be made until Monday.
Has anyone any advice please? Thanks Julie
 

Mrsbusy

Registered User
Aug 15, 2015
354
0
I haven't got any advice but thought I'd give you a hug as I can imagine how you feel. I'm sure no matter what the nurses are saying about no anti aggressive medicines available if it becomes too much they will find a doctor somewhere to administer it if needed..

If you think it maybe a UTI why can't they check by urine samples rather than bloods? Must be easier for both parties. Has your Dads stomach bloated because of not eating much or constipation can also do this, to relieve this it would help if he drinks water and tries to move about. A warm drink may also help.

I do hope you find him feeling better tomorrow, but don't forget you are used to your Dad and the nurses aren't so be a pain if you have to, just to help him in the long run.
 

Lizzie J Hart

Account Closed
Sep 5, 2015
3
0
Bournemouth
I would speak to the doctors and ask them if they will act in his best interest, they will have to see if he has capacity first, and then if not they can carry out a best interest decision.
Are you able to speak to the doctor who has been caring for him on Monday and suggest you feel something needs to be done in Dad's BI. They may say that they are unable to carry out a mental capacity assessment if he has an infection..

Also if he is compliant with medication it may be a good idea to get some pain relief into him, he may be unsettled/anxious due to the pain that the stomach is causing him or other areas of the body, as we all know some people with dementia cannot express the pain that they are in. If the pain is managed he may be more compliant with the Dr's and nurses.

Medication to manage the aggression really should be last resort they should be looking into why he is acting this way, it seems pretty evident from the info you have given that Dad still has some sort of infection, so could they not give him a short course of AB's to rule out any infection as i can imagine a urine sample would be very hard to get at this stage.

Hospital settings don't always have the best effect on people suffering with dementia unfortunately so the environment may not be helping :(

xxx
 
Last edited:

Renee T

Registered User
Sep 15, 2015
3
0
Decision making

Hi, My 82 year old Dad has been in hospital for 6 days and is getting worse and not allowing doctors near him.He originally went in with a suspected UTI ? Constipation? He did allow 2 blood tests in first few days and was put on IV antibiotics. Unfortunately, it was over the bank holiday so results were delayed and his aggression has now become so bad that he has refused subsequent blood tests for the past 2 days and examination by doctors despite them trying about 6 times. Tonight we noticed his stomach has started to bloat and he is in real pain.He has refused to get back into bed despite our best efforts to persuade him and have had to leave him in a chair.I have spoken to the night staff re my fears of this being connected to his Prostate cancer causing urine retention but if he is trying to fight with the staff they cannot scan his bladder and I honestly dont think they could put a catheter in.
Does anyone have any experience of when a patients best interest comes into play and what they are allowed to do to help him? It was absolutely heartbreaking tonight and going into the weekend again the nurses said that any decisions re anti aggressive medication could not be made until Monday.
Has anyone any advice please? Thanks Julie

Does anyone have a power of attorney or any other legal decision making ability? It certainly sounds as though some intervention may be essential and could be directed by a designated surrogate decision maker.
 

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