My grandmother was admitted with chest & urine infections. She's 90 years old and suffers with dementia. The ambulance which took her to the hospital had 2 EMT's on board,they were fantastic & very caring. On arriving at a&e staff were reasonably quick in assessing her & we probably waited just over the 4 hours to be found a bed on EAU. By this point my grandmother was fairly unresponsive & dehydrated, she was started on fluids & a broad spectrum antibiotic and placed in a side room. The staff that evening were clearly very busy but did what they could to reassure my mother and make my grandmother comfortable. My mother and I returned the next day to find my grandmother almost unrousable and a DNR placed in her notes.This had not been discussed with us,as a family we would have almost certainly agreed to this but we were not given the option. This lead to a SHO being sent into us,only after asking a rude nurse why we had not been informed of the DNR,the SHO said she was in the middle of a resus situation at the time she chose to see us (which worried me why she chose that particular time) was apologetic but unempathetic. As my mother put it too the SHO 'she is the only one I have'-we would have apppreciated being informed. All that being said when my grandmother was moved to a ward (West Bergholt) I couldn't fault it. The nurses were attentive and kind,although clearly very busy they spent that little bit extra time because they cared.
"EAU understaffed & stressful"
About: Colchester General Hospital Colchester General Hospital Colchester CO4 5JL
Posted via nhs.uk
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