My mother who is in her late eighties and suffering from dementia was admitted to Dr.Gray's, Elgin and had an operation to replace part of her hip. Her stomach lining was destroyed years ago, due to a radiation overdose. Neither that detail or her dementia was written on her hospital notes.
She was told off for moving her arm and setting off an alarm, the nurse was surprised to discover she had dementia! One week later she was discharged. We were puzzled as no home assessment or care package had been put in place.
Her bathroom at home is upstairs and yet she could barely walk. We were told she had been signed off by OT because she had climbed a flight of stairs! Really? She struggled to stand up. We later discovered it was a folding 2-step. Fortunately my brother came to the rescue and put a single bed in his kitchen for her for a few days until we took her home - still nothing in place.
My sister and I are taking turns at staying with her. I have to travel some hours. We have placed a baby gate at the top of the stairs to stop her coming down by herself - she forgets she has had a hip operation.
We have asked for a banister so she can support herself going slowly upstairs. We have asked for a support to get her into the bath., 2 weeks on and nothing, so we will sort this out ourselves. We were asked to give her daily injections for 6 weeks and refused to do this. At least then a nurse would be in daily.
May I add that the district nurses who come in every day have been absolutely lovely and as helpful as they can be, dressing her sores and giving us advice as requested. There were also lovely auxiliaries in Dr. Grays.
I really feel that a lot more could have been done to make my elderly mother's stay in hospital and return home, so much more comfortable and pleasant. She may be in her late eighties, she may be suffering from dementia, but she is a precious human being and a lovely soul who does not deserve any of this.
We are grateful to the surgeons who successfully worked on my mother's hip and previous operations she has had. However, the aftercare is questionable.
"Discharged with no home assessment or care package."
About: Community Services in Grampian / Formartine Community Nursing Team Community Services in Grampian Formartine Community Nursing Team Dr Gray's Hospital / General Surgery Dr Gray's Hospital General Surgery IV30 1SN Dr Gray's Hospital / Orthopaedics (Bones, Joints and Fractures) Dr Gray's Hospital Orthopaedics (Bones, Joints and Fractures) IV30 1SN
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