Nhs

[scooterscot]

Sorry to hear this, again.

My father passed away last year and the capability of the NHS staff were a constant conversation.

From spending a night on the floor (no staff noticed until the morning) to just making him feel comfortable - treatment was never forthcoming, it was truly upsetting.

If I could start over I put all my energies in moving to private care.

[suityou01]

I don't know what to say to those of you that have had truly disgusting experiences with the NHS. My sympathies are obviously with you, and as one poster said he would rather have gone private. TBH I don't think that is any better, from what I have heard.

The updates are that he is much worse. He is having mini strokes. No medication has been prescribed. He has not had ANY scans. He IS languishing in a bed until the consultant can be arsed to visit him on Monday.

I am working on a visiting rota. Do what we can. Make as much of a fuss as we can.

NHS - Useless bastards.

[Zippy]

Sorry SY01. The staff can contact the consultant on a Sunday, maybe they don't think much can be done but that doesn't excuse them for doing nothing.

[RichardCranium]

The updates are that he is much worse.

I am working on a visiting rota. Do what we can.

It makes you wonder what the point is going to hospital.

Make as much of a fuss as we can.

Do it - don't end up feeling guilty for not doing something.

Best wishes.

[Paddy]

Sorry to hear about your grandfather. Unfortunately the older one is, the less the NHS care although it varies from area to area. I hade a similar experience with my mum. I have learnt that you have to insist and be form to get the correct treatment on the NHS. What p’s me off is that the NHS as more than enough CT and MRI scanners in the UK but due to alleged staff shortages scans are rationed.

[Andy2]

Any kind of tests,scans and specialist consultation takes forever in this country.
I had a blood test and the report comes after a week. An appointment for a scan was given after a month and if I have to get appointment for a specialist it takes a few months. what a joke health service is.

[OwlHoot]

It's probably not what SY wants to hear, possibly verging on crass in the circs; but doctors and nurses have had stick in recent years for trying to intervene too intensively in similar cases, rather than letting old people die with dignity when their number is up.

Of course medical staff must still decide whether an emergency like this is remediable or does signify a terminal decline, and maybe these days they err on the laissez faire side.

[NickFitz]

The updates are that he is much worse.

Sorry to hear that

Do what we can. Make as much of a fuss as we can.

Absolutely. My mother was in hospital last year. Normally a sharp-witted intelligent woman in a reasonable state of fitness, she appeared confused and, frankly, doddery. We eventually realised that the staff were taking the attitude that she was just some confused old woman, and assuming that she was always like that.

They also didn't let visitors in during the time the doctors did their rounds. I can see the point of that as otherwise they'd be too busy fending off pestering questions to actually do their job; but after a couple of days when it seemed we weren't getting through to them, we collared one of the senior nurses and made her stop and listen as we explained that this was not our mother's normal state of being, and that in fact this general mental deterioration must be considered as one of the symtpoms of what was wrong with her.

Only when this was made clear and communicated to the consultant was it finally realised that although she had an infection, she was also having a bad reaction to a recent change in her ongoing medication - something which was in her notes, but had not been picked up on because of this attitude of "She's over 75, of course she's losing it a bit."

Once they sorted out the problem with the medication she was back to her old self in no time, and was able to leave hospital after a couple of days.

So make sure that both the nursing staff and doctors have a proper idea of what your grandfather was like before this latest episode. Hospital staff are overworked, and some of the agency staff in particular can be quite useless; but the vast majority actually do want to do the best they possibly can for their patients. If the pressure they're under leads them to make hasty but incorrect judgements (which is a particular problem with elderly patients), then unfortunately it's down to you to correct their misconceptions.

Once they're on the right track they'll do a good job, but sometimes you have to grab them by the arm[*] and lead them to it.

[*] This is of course a metaphor. Don't actually grab them; they get enough of that crap from drunks in A&E.

[SizeZero]

Thanks Owlhoot for saying so nicely what I tried (and failed) to type.

My Grandmother had surgery and follow-on care for Breast Cancer at 74 years old. When she was taken in at 77 - they just 'knew'. We lost her two weeks later. Cured when they believed she still had quality of life ahead - given a bed and board when they recognised that life was ebbing away. Her mind went very quickly at the end (as did my other grandmothers) - a blessing for her I think, but extra hard for us.

The British populace never speaks about the final stages of life - it's just to hard a subject to handle. The medical staff just 'know' because they deal with it every day. One can ask for all medication, world-renowned doctors, every scan under the sun, and requests will be met with a shake of the head - but to avoid law suits, relatives aren't told until patient has deteriorated to a point that means for certain only one thing.

The NHS doesn't suck; it just treats with enthusiasm the beginnings of life, and with quiet dignity the final journey (ok, lack of resouces is a different matter but thats what happen when you get managers instead of a Matron).

Best wishes for his recovery, SY, and I hope your mother's back heals quickly (I know how painful slipped discs are ).

[cojak]

Thanks Owlhoot for saying so nicely what I tried (and failed) to type.

My Grandmother had surgery and follow-on care for Breast Cancer at 74 years old. When she was taken in at 77 - they just 'knew'. We lost her two weeks later. Cured when they believed she still had quality of life ahead - given a bed and board when they recognised that life was ebbing away. Her mind went very quickly at the end (as did my other grandmothers) - a blessing for her I think, but extra hard for us.

The British populace never speaks about the final stages of life - it's just to hard a subject to handle. The medical staff just 'know' because they deal with it every day. One can ask for all medication, world-renowned doctors, every scan under the sun, and requests will be met with a shake of the head - but to avoid law suits, relatives aren't told until patient has deteriorated to a point that means for certain only one thing.

The NHS doesn't suck; it just treats with enthusiasm the beginnings of life, and with quiet dignity the final journey (ok, lack of resouces is a different matter but thats what happen when you get managers instead of a Matron).

Best wishes for his recovery, SY, and I hope your mother's back heals quickly (I know how painful slipped discs are ).

WHS.

My father died of lung cancer last year. All nursing staff were caring and considerate, the Doctors were more impersonal but did their jobs.

Dad passed away within 8 weeks of diagnosis but most family members were with him at the end.

I'm not dissing the awful reports here, but it's not all bad.

Keep asking questions though - squeaky wheels an' all that...