Nurse wanting information on patients and carers experiences of hospital

[WILLIAMR]

I think communication needs to be improved in hospitals.
When my father was in hospital he was discharged and I went to collect him.
On the way from the car park I met the physiotherapist coming back from lunch.
She was on her way to see him.
As it happened I took a bit longer than normal to get to the hospital because of the heavy traffic.
If I had not been delayed Dad and I would have been gone by that time.

William

 

[lizliz]

Thank you all for your feedback, I agree we need to work harder to make sure patients with dementia have a more comfortable stay in hospital.

I have been working hard to get open visiting in place where I work and the management team have agreed to allow a trial from 1st December calling it 'flexible visiting'.

I get a lot of feedback from families visiting their loved ones and they say they are pleased they can visit any time and that is what keeps me going. I agree we must work together to make things better and I hope I can choose a topic that I can research but I need to make sure it will be meaningful for people who use the service.

The you tube clip was very moving, thank you for sharing it x

 

[Oxy]

Have already lost all this once, will therefore post in 3lots. Haven't seen this thread till now but would like to add my three pennies worth.
*i understand you have to raise bed for treatment to save your backs. Please lower afterwards so patient can get in/out for loo.
* please do not throw soiled net pants away-most of us have washing machines and they cost £1 a piece and I buy them in as nhs only gives five per annum.
*please allow main carer to be there unrestricted to time. Last time I had an accident as so anxious to get requisites, namely pads,to patient. Accurate info would have helped. On ringing ward upset that I would now be late was informed that visitors can stay as long as want as patients very ill. That was not on website at a time when norovirus was rampant in area.should have been informed when patient transferred from AMU.
*doctors rounds should be when main carer present as no info absorbed or retained and that is hard to deal with.
*no PhD is required to insert hearing aids. They need taking apart at night to dry and replaced assembled in morning and need to be on. It takes dignity of very severe to profound patient away if can't hear. No good nurse telling me she had to shout at patient. I had offered to come in morning to put them in and this was declined. Eventually I found a kind male orderly to put them in each morning by asking when he came for a chat!
*please have menus available at visiting so carer can fill them in. A partially sighted patient can't do that and it's unfair to give them any old thing they don't like when it is important nutrition is taken on board for recovery. Also may not be able to make correct choice medically eg diabetes

*please give high sided plates so chicken does not slip off under bed. Also white food on white plates is not ideal for dementia or partially sighted.
* please don't allow patient to wander over to others to stroke them better -cross infection!
On whole on that ward they were very kind but above do need attention. Will post now to prevent loss and continue afresh. Thank you for reading and attempting to address issues , hopefully countrywide.

 

[Oxy]

An unpleasant A&E visit. Started with ambulance taking a massive detour because driver was new!!
*hospital doctor who was young spoke to me as if a naughty child (like a bad parent would speak). Told me to sit there! Wouldn't allow me to say how fall happened yet patient didn't know! Then commanded me to assist in helping patient sit up!
*nurse had informed me that loved one had uti. Explained terrible fall. Needed bedpan so so frequently!
*after X-ray doctor(same one) said no uti. I mentioned this to nurse so she put hat in toilet and when she removed hat she set flush sensor off and all lost. We were sent home. I was not assertive for retest as had truly had enough. It was a uti as Gp then put patient on antibiotics. Still not happy about it months later.
*see pm

 

[Oxy]

Another A&E visit before dementia
* had told every doctor nurse that I will get insulin from patient's house. Each time, including in early hours before leaving AMU was told they would pass message on and in fact last nurse said they had it and I would not need to bring it in. On way to hospital next lunchtime, pharmacist rang for me to bring it in. Communication!!
*on arriving found patient sitting in a pool of urine -had never been so wet before as nurse had not acted or been off when requesting pads. You don't book A&E visits and they were not with me . Nurse in charge had very thick accent. Of course when deaf, clear slow diction very important. I found it hard to comprehend!
*hearing aids again a problem batteries had gone flat and must have sung all night. Why could they not sort that? Why were they not removed and turned off!
A stay quite a while ago
*so important to listen to patient and carer. Some patients lack self esteem due to past and when in pain and fobbed off will then wait for carer in evening. It was only acted on after I insisted and it was a DVT. I got an apology in the toilet as sister was turning wheelchair round.
All in all communication is major problem. Carers need to be listened to at all times. Deaf and partially sighted need to be respected and treated with dignity. Visiting needs to be looser- we always do much whilst there anyway and help others who need it in little ways too. Take note of 'this is me 'booklet.
insulin must be given -had near miss when not administered.
Wish you success in implementing these things for all hospitals. Unfortunately disparity between hospitals is too great. Above things really affect all patients, not just those with dementia. Above hospital is best in area!

 

[Kevinl]

Part of the problem is if you spend £30k of your own money to get a nursing degree why should you be getting drinks for or feeding people let alone wiping their bums?
When I was a nurse if bedpans, bedbaths and cleaning up sick were too much then Matron would have a word and you'd go. It may be symptomatic of something that you need to ask the relatives how to care you might have missed the patients out.
No more to say, it sounds like a project to get more boxes ticked not a genuine desire to address the issue of poor front line care.
Sorry to the OP if this sounds a bit harsh but box ticking and bean counting doesn't help someone who can't reach her drink or food, can't go to the loo, is disorientated or whatever. Open visiting hours brilliant, how about humanitarian care, understanding, patience, won't pay the student loan but it might help the: what are we now "end user".
K

 

[Oxy]

Please bring bedpans , commodes etc pronto when required. Seeing staff dawdle to oblivion not good. Causes much distress/anxiety.
I hope this was not all in vain and that last poster is too pessimistic but I fear he is brighter than me and I shouldn't have bothered.
Wheelchairs should always be plentiful and accessible. Don't want to run through building peering down every corridor and in towards to look for one. And no coins please-no one would steal them and coins may not be available in an emergency situation when already a bit panicky.

 

[nae sporran]

Hi, my name is Liz and I am a staff nurse on a healthcare of the older person acute medical ward in a large hospital.

I am doing a masters degree in advanced nursing and have chosen dementia as the topic for improvement.

I wonder if people would be so kind as to give me some feedback about how their hospital stay could have been improved? I would welcome any information as this would enable me to do some research into how we can improve the experience of patients stay on an acute ward.

Thank you in anticipation Liz

Hullo there Liz.

My partner has been in an out of the Bristol Royal Infirmary a few times recently and they have some good schemes in there, when the staff have time to make it work.

There is a leaflet called "this is me" which I think is connected to the Alzheimers Society, only problem is that you have to remind the nurses to give you a copy and make sure they keep it by the bed. Last time, we got on the second last day which was useless.

Other thing they have is a carers liaison officer who was very helpful in making sure we got the right information and helped to co-ordinate discharge. She was only in 3 days a week, so obviously more funding required.

Finally, was trying to get consistent nursing and nursing assistants who were aware of the needs of a patient with dementia and who were aware of the carers involvement in discharge and in helping with meal selection.

Hope that gives you some ideas to go on.