Hi all
I came on here originally to ask for advice about my dad going into a care home after my mum died suddenly. Dad had pretty severe dementia although was still quite independent in respect of washing, eating, toilet, etc. After a rather disheartening battle with SS, we got him in a really good care home a few weeks ago and, aside from agitation in the evening, was settling in well.
However, last Sunday, he fell in the home and this resulted in two brain bleeds; one of which was severe. The bleed was so severe that the doctors stated that he is very unlikely to survive this and if is did, would be severely brain damaged and would need "full care". My dad being quite a private, dignified man would not have wanted what "full care" entails. In the event, he never regained consciousness and passed away early on Saturday morning after being put on an end-of-life palliative package during the week to keep him comfortable when it became clear he would not recover. He passed away very peacefully in the end.
I did manage to spend some time with him before he died, which was good (even though he wasn't conscious), but what doesn't fully stack up is the sheer number of injuries (cuts and bruises) my dad had on his head, arms and torso that were not consistent with the statement that he had a simple fall in the corridor. The care home have stated that the fall was not witnessed, which is strange in itself, because he did wander and they gave him a dose of Lorazepam a few hours beforehand. The hospital and SS have called for a Safeguarding Investigation. I visited the care home yesterday and am 100% sure that there is nothing sinister going on other than they possibly allowed him to wander unsupervised. However, where they found him was close to some stairs and I think that he went wandering and fell down the stairs (with sharp metal treads) and then crawled to where they found him. The residents have a lift and can't use the stairs but I know my dad would use the stairs.
I don't want to cause trouble for the care home but I need to know what happened.
Regards
Dave
I came on here originally to ask for advice about my dad going into a care home after my mum died suddenly. Dad had pretty severe dementia although was still quite independent in respect of washing, eating, toilet, etc. After a rather disheartening battle with SS, we got him in a really good care home a few weeks ago and, aside from agitation in the evening, was settling in well.
However, last Sunday, he fell in the home and this resulted in two brain bleeds; one of which was severe. The bleed was so severe that the doctors stated that he is very unlikely to survive this and if is did, would be severely brain damaged and would need "full care". My dad being quite a private, dignified man would not have wanted what "full care" entails. In the event, he never regained consciousness and passed away early on Saturday morning after being put on an end-of-life palliative package during the week to keep him comfortable when it became clear he would not recover. He passed away very peacefully in the end.
I did manage to spend some time with him before he died, which was good (even though he wasn't conscious), but what doesn't fully stack up is the sheer number of injuries (cuts and bruises) my dad had on his head, arms and torso that were not consistent with the statement that he had a simple fall in the corridor. The care home have stated that the fall was not witnessed, which is strange in itself, because he did wander and they gave him a dose of Lorazepam a few hours beforehand. The hospital and SS have called for a Safeguarding Investigation. I visited the care home yesterday and am 100% sure that there is nothing sinister going on other than they possibly allowed him to wander unsupervised. However, where they found him was close to some stairs and I think that he went wandering and fell down the stairs (with sharp metal treads) and then crawled to where they found him. The residents have a lift and can't use the stairs but I know my dad would use the stairs.
I don't want to cause trouble for the care home but I need to know what happened.
Regards
Dave