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Mum's admission for Cardiac Treatment

Posted By Quine's Gone Walking

"Mum's admission for Cardiac Treatment"

About: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary / Cardiology / Coronary Care Unit Aberdeen Royal Infirmary / Pharmacy Scottish Ambulance Service / Patient Transport Service

(as a carer),

My mum was transferred to the ARI in  January from Dr Gray's in Elgin following a heart attack as the treatment she required, an angiogram and 2 stents fitted, could not be carried out at Dr Gray's.

The ambulance staff who transported her from Elgin were 2 lovely ladies who were very reassuring as my mum was very nervous about going to ARI for treatment.

The staff at the ARI were brilliant, even though it appeared they were extremely over worked and over stretched, and her care from the staff on the cardiac ward could not be faulted for the 3 days she was admitted.

However, on the day she was due to be discharged  she spent all afternoon and most of the evening waiting for new meds to arrive on the ward from the pharmacy.

I made the journey through from Elgin arriving at ARI at 3:00 pm to pick her up but at 7:00pm we were still waiting for the meds to arrive. At 7:00pm one of the Auxiliaries volunteered to go to the pharmacy to see if the meds were ready for pick up, however they had just left and were on their way to the ward. In the end they took almost an hour to arrive on the ward, getting to us at 7:50pm.

In the almost 5hrs I was with my mum on the ward awaiting discharge, she got increasingly fraught and emotional by the long delay, something which we could have both happily have avoided given the already stressful situation we'd had of her being in hospital for 8 days, combined with the 2hr journey to get back to Elgin. 

For my mum this was an unnecessary stress added on top of the already emotional and physically draining experience of having had a heart attack and undergoing.

It seemed to be a widely known issue as Dr Gray's had provided her with all the meds they anticipated she would need on discharge to avoid having to hang around waiting on the pharmacy, but unfortunately the doctors at ARI had changed her new medications on the day of discharge.

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Responses

Response from Lesley Kay, Patient Experience Team Leader, Corporate Affairs, Scottish Ambulance Service 13 months ago
Lesley Kay
Patient Experience Team Leader, Corporate Affairs,
Scottish Ambulance Service

Submitted on 23/03/2023 at 08:02
Published on Care Opinion at 08:02

Dear Quine's gone walking

Thank you so much for taking the time to get in touch through Care Opinion to let us know about your mums' experience.

I am really sorry to hear about your mum suffering a heart attack, this must have been a huge worry for you all.

I am really delighted to read about all the care and reassurance given by our crew, I hope this helped ease the worry.

I would really love to pass on your kind words to the crew who attended. If you would like me to do that for you. please may I ask you contact our team at sas.feedback@nhs.scot with your mum's name, address and date of when we attended. It would also be really helpful if you could make reference to your careopinion user name which will help us to link to this story.

I am sure the health board will be in touch soon in relation to the issues experienced at the pharmacy.

Thanks again for getting in touch, I hope your mum is on the road to recovery and is feeling much better

Kind Regards

Lesley

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Response from Catriona Robbins, Chief Nurse, Medicine & Unscheduled Care, NHS Grampian 13 months ago
We are preparing to make a change
Catriona Robbins
Chief Nurse, Medicine & Unscheduled Care,
NHS Grampian

Submitted on 23/03/2023 at 08:43
Published on Care Opinion at 09:48

picture of Catriona Robbins

Dear Quine's gone walking

I am grateful for your positive feedback regarding the care your Mum received while with out cardiology team and will be sure to share that with the team involved in her care. They are always grateful to hear that the care they provide is supportive.

However, I am so sorry to hear about your Mum's discharge experience during what was already a very stressful experience for you all, especially given the need for you to drive a significant distance home.

I will have a conversation with the ward pharmacist to try to understand if there was anything that we could have done differently to support your Mum differently.

I hope that your Mum is making a good recovery from her admission.

Thank you again for your feedback.

Kind regards

Catriona

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Response from David King, Patient Experience Coordinator, Corporate Affairs, Scottish Ambulance Service 13 months ago
David King
Patient Experience Coordinator, Corporate Affairs,
Scottish Ambulance Service

Submitted on 23/03/2023 at 12:16
Published on Care Opinion at 12:16

Dear Quine's Gone Walking

Thank you for contacting our Patient Experience Team with more detail.

I have identified the crew and passed on your kind words. In addition they will receive letters of commendation.

I do hope your mother is recovering well.

Kindest regards

David

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