My mum’s situation changed quite suddenly from being entirely independent to requiring an increasing amount of care over a 6 month period until the end of her life. Whilst most of the individuals that provided this support were helpful, the system itself can be a minefield with lots of minor and some major challenges.
Homecare provided via her local council required constant oversight by family. A lack of funding at a service level and high levels of absence at operational level seemed to complicate matters daily - inconsistent carers and time slots, significant variance of the level of support given and poor communication with family and amongst staff too with regards to the even the most basic level of care required.
The District Nurses were a great support and always on the other end of the phone if not there in person - they were a lifeline for our family in times where the lack of support was overwhelming.
The GP surgery, overall really supportive and a lovely surgery. Coordinating prescriptions and blister packs, not straightforward though from the GP side and significant persistence required.
NHS Palliative Care, the hesitation in hospice referral really impacted on the suffering in the final stages.
Hospice support was fantastic once admitted, albeit the move was late and therefore exacerbating a very bad situation. I appreciate we are fortunate my mum was supported in a hospice at all where all of the staff couldn’t have been nicer. We will be forever grateful for the support they provided in her final 36 hours.
My opinion is that without family, my mum would have had a very slow and painful death without some of the most basic care needs being met. Individuals with family advocating for them and providing care are fortunate. For those with no one, I can only imagine how many things would slip through the net.
"Challenging to navigate end of life support"
About: General practices in Lanarkshire General practices in Lanarkshire Kilbryde Hospice Kilbryde Hospice East Kilbryde G75 8GJ http://kilbrydehospice.org.uk/ Motherwell Locality Support Service / Community Nursing Team Motherwell Locality Support Service Community Nursing Team ML1 1PA Motherwell Locality Support Service / Motherwell Home Support Service Motherwell Locality Support Service Motherwell Home Support Service ML1 1PA
Posted by EDBL (as ),
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