"Lack of communication with the ward"

My mother became suddenly at the end of January, and was taken to hospital by ambulance in the early hours . The ambulance staff and the staff in the resus ward of A & E were all amazing. My mother was very seriously ill that morning with a possibility that she would die. Despite the pressures, the consultant in charge, Dr Martin, phoned me twice that morning, invited me to come up to see my mum and took time to speak to me in detail when I was there. My mother was admitted to Ward 5E later that day and I'm afraid that communication ever since has been far from great.

I was only allowed to visit twice per week due to covid restrictions. This left us heavily reliant on phone calls to the ward for updates. My mum was often ill, confused and unable to keep in touch with us herself. Even when she did, she was unable to relay what was happening medically.

My experience at the outset was of daily efforts to ring the ward. The phone was rarely answered. On some occasions it was answered and the person immediately hung up before any discussion could take place. On other occasions the person I spoke to had scant knowledge of my mother and her care. An update was to say that she was in good form that morning and having a cup of tea. On other occasions, when the phone goes unanswered, I have been put through to the patient liaison service who also have tried the ward without success. They have then put through a request for a call back.

Both my sister and I have spent whole days waiting for callbacks which never materialised. I only get a meaningful update when I complain to patient liaison and ask that they note my complaint on the referral going to the ward. That shouldn't be necessary. The quality and accuracy of the information provided varies considerably. I have raised that directly which resulted in a detailed call from my mother's consultant who was very thorough and helpful.

In late February I was contacted to advise that in person visiting was suspended for 14 days as a patient who had been discharged had tested positive for covid. I was told in that phone call about virtual visiting and that I would get daily updates. That did not happened. I believe I had two unprompted updates in the last week.

In February I was contacted by one of the doctors on the ward at my mum's request. I was told that there was a discharge plan in place which required a care package. There was a detailed discussion with the doctor around the various medical issues and needs. At the end of that phone call I was able to speak to the OT, who also was helpful.

Since then I have had no update about the care package, despite my mum telling every family member she speaks to that she is coming home tomorrow. We endlessly have to burst her bubble and tell her she isn't and that we have no information and no idea when anything will happen. I did receive an update at the end of February from the ward. I was again told there was no timescale for a care package. I asked for the name of the social worker who would be dealing with that, they were unable to give me that information. I managed to speak to the social worker eventually in early March to find out that my messages requesting a call from her had not been passed along from the ward to her.

I phoned again in early March looking for an update. I was told that the nurse was doing meds so was too busy to come to the phone. I have no issue with that given that I rang at 9.30 and I understand the ward is busy at that time. I was told my mum was in good form etc. I said I was not satisfied with that as an update, that I wished to speak to someone about the care package and about when restrictions on visiting would be lifted and wanted a call back from someone who could answer those questions. No one called. I have placed another call this morning and am waiting again. I literally have to take my phone with me to the toilet in case the hospital call, because if I am not able to answer, they neither leave a message nor call back.

This is a difficult situation made even more so by the lack of communication and the often poor quality of it at. With one exception, I would say that the quality of information provided by the doctors has been excellent When visiting, the nursing assistants have been great.. Unfortunately that is not my experience with some of the qualified nurses.

We have been living with Covid for two years. I cannot imagine why a ward which deals with elderly people has been unable to put in place procedures for keeping family properly informed, given that many patients are very poorly and very confused. I and my family are simply exhausted with the effort of chasing the hospital.

Last night  my sister arrived for a visit at 6.00pm. She was met by a doctor explaining to our mother that they were moving her to Meadowlands in Musgrave Park Hopsital and were doing that right now. This was never raised as a possibility with us. It was not discussed with my mum , nor were we notified. I spoke to my mum later that evening, it was heartbreaking. She was confused, didn’t know where she was or why and was worried she would have nowhere to sleep the next day. This distress, upset and confusion were caused entirely by the appalling handling of this move. Had my sister not been there, we doubt that anyone would have informed us.