"Wrong diagnoses - twice; drug error and discharged..."

What I liked

Very little

What could be improved

My grandfather has just been discharged from UHND. His care and after care have been apalling. Firstly we were told he had been admitted with a heart attack, when we quizzed nursing staff further they became very defensive and were unable to give us more information on his heart attack. He was left a full; day with nothing to drink yet his charts said his fluids needed to be increased!! It later turned out that he has not had a heart attack and the nurse was probably talking about another patient.! He was subject to warfarin drug errors whilst in hospital which we only discovered after reading his discharge letter. The discharge letter also had a shocking diagnosis of lung cancer written on it, which we had no idea about. Very distressing - after further investigation form my Grandfathers GP we now know that this was written in error and he does not have lung cancer!

Also we were told that as he is 92 years old and lives alone he would be assessed prior to discharge. This did not happen. So an elderly, unwell man who required help from 2 people to walk, wash, dress and go to the toilet, was discharged home to live alone. He needed a zimmer frame which was not provided leaving family to move in with him and two people to help with all tasks. It is completely unacceptable that the nurses sent him home in this state, knowing he needed help for everything! UHND is a disgrace. At one point we considered moving him to much better hospitals in the area such as Sunderland Royal.