Rant about local hospital!

[Milky Bar Kid]

Last February, my gran collapsed. An ambulance was called and she was taken to the local on-call GP who said it was a tummy bug. 15 Minutes later, sahe was unconcious and stopped breathing. Ambulance was called and she was taken to the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary. She was kept in for 5 days. During those days we visited her and she was extremely confused, taking about the 3 world war and squirrels.....:confused:. Both myself and my mother, on seperate occasions told the nurses that it wasn't like her and that we were concerned. Anyway, they sent her home, stating it was high blood pressure. Within 3 days she had collapsed again and began seizing so violently that the Ambulance required a police escort, as soon as she arrived at A+E she was sedated and ventilated and the family were called to be at her bedside and told to expect the worst. A CT was carried out and it reveal a subarrachnoid haemorrage (sp nearly right!). She was conveyed to Edinburgh and they successfully operated.

So then we found she lung cancer. She was treated with Radiotherapy in Edinburgh. She had 2 12 week courses and seemed to be dealing ok with it. Her last treatment was in Septemeber and she recently had a scan which showed that the treatment had worked (apparently).

Anyway, in the past month or so she has become increasingly confused. Last week she collapsed again and was taken to the DGRI. She was admitted to a ward and sent home that night. No CT was done despite the hospital reassuring my mother it would be.

On Tuesday my mother took my gran to her GP. It was decided tht we would take her to the hospital again. On Wed they carried out a full body CT.

Here is the bit I am angry about:

On Thursday afternoon the hospital staff spoke with my gran, who is on her own 55 miles away from her family that cancer had spread to her brain and that she had numerous tumours and that it was terminal. Only after they told her this did they ask if she wanted someone contacted. So then they phoned my 73 yr old grandfather and told him DOWN THE PHONE that his wife has terminal cancer!

How can somone be so insensitive as to tell a 66 year old woman that she is going to die while she is on her own? And then tell her husband over the phone?

I'm holding back on what I would like to say as I don't feel an emotional rant is the right thing to do. I know the NHS staff have a difficult job but this hospital seems to be the pits.

Anyway, rant over.

[Wideboy]

****ting hell, thats a kick in the nuts, sorry to hear tha bad news :(

[zobers]

Sorry to hear about this. Thats just the worst way anyone could possibly be told about a terminal illness, there just doesn't seem to be any thought put into how people will feel, people are just numbers and it isn't right. I hope you are ok.

[husky03]

sorry for your news mrs

[dizzyblonde]

That is absolutely awful MBK..I feel for you, I really doo :-(

[Miss Alpinestarhero]

Sorry to hear the bad news :( I admit that the staff could and should have handled the situation more sensitively.

They shouldnt have told your gran that she was terminal whilst she was alone, especially if she keeps have reoccuring moments of confusion. They should have made sure that a family member was with her first, and told the news to everyone in one go.

I can sort-of see why they told your grandad over the phone, maybe they thought that he wouldnt be able to do a 55 mile trip to the hospital? Maybe that is the way they practice at that particular hospital i.e. tell diagnoses over the phone first. I dont know. Not very nice anyway :(

Not sure what you could do at this stage, maybe complain to the hospital about it so that they dont do it again in future?

Maria

[embee]

That's awful, but sadly doesn't surprise me.

I know we can't tar all the NHS with the same brush, and some (most?) of it does do a good job under sometimes difficult cicumstances, but sometimes it's plain bad.

A few years ago my Dad had a heart attack, not too severe, and he was treated well for a few days in hospital. They said they'd book a scan........................nothing. He finally got his GP to check with them and they had no record of a booking so made a new one. He had the scan about 6 weeks after the attack, and they decided he needed a stent, and would make an appointment........................nothing. GP eventually chased it and guess what, no record of the appointment. He eventually got the stent done about 4 months after the original attack.
I'm convinced they reckoned that chances were that the old guy would have another attack and die so they wouldn't have to do the work.
At least he didn't get MRSA/c-diff/novovirus.
He's still fine, thanks NHS.

[600+]

I'm sorry to hear of your ordeal!

welcome to the lovely world of NHS......more and more examples appear where the NHs have waited until someone is at a very ill stage till they decide to do some proper tests!!!

Private cover all the way I say!!! I have now forced the missus to get signed up with someone like BUPA so that we can increase our chances that we get looked at properly

[Tiger 55]

Sorry about your Gran MBK.

It wont help her, but if you complain it might just change the way they do things so write to the hospital and your MSP. Be blunt and demand an answer.

I'm convinced they reckoned that chances were that the old guy would have another attack and die so they wouldn't have to do the work.
Bullseye.

[yorkie_chris]

Very sorry to hear about the news.

St. James' hospital in Leeds was a similar horror story when my Grandad was in there. Suffice to say I would consider it cruel to keep dogs in similar conditions.

[karen]

Thats awful... Sorry about your news.

[Milky Bar Kid]

Thanks guys!

Yeah, I think that if my mother doesn't write a letter to them I will.

Re my grandpa being told over the phone, what the hell would they have done if he had had a heart attack at the other end of it? anyone with a bit of decency in their body would have thought twice about that!

[timwilky]

sorry to read this, but not surprised, they phoned my sister in law at work to tell her she had a brain tumor.

Daughter told me tonight they had an old confused guy come into A&E last night inquiring about his wife who had gone to hospital with 6 people in a taxi the night before, they could not trace her. But they managed to get him to identify two sons one of whom they were able to find on their system at reception.

They phoned the home address to check he was the son and then told them his dad was at A&E looking for his wife. turns out she had died and nobody thought to inform the old fellow. He could not come for his dad as he had been drinking and his sister in law turned up saying she wasn't not look after him.

Some people make your blood boil

[gruntygiggles]

I'm so so sorry Nic,

Right, I would most definately write a letter, but you have to do it in a certain way in order to get your message across, help prevent other patients getting the same treatment and ensuring that your grandmother gets the very best care at that hospital from now on.

You need to start the letter by thanking the hospital for all that they are doing for your gran and the day to day care that she is recieving.

Then you need to say that while you understand the pressures facing the NHS and that nurses and staff, that feel you have no option but to make a complaint about the handling of certain situations.

Then you can list what you are unhappy about, like your nan being discharged without a scan when you were told she would be having one, but most importantly tell them about the manner in which your nan and your grandad were told the news that her illness was terminal.

Don't be afraid to go into detail and explain that the nurses and doctors were aware that your nan has been suffering with confusion and that no checks were made to determine the status of your grandfathers health before calling an elderly man and giving him such tragic news over the phone where he also had no one for support.

Tell them your concerns for your nan and your grandad and let them know that you are deeply disappointed with the manner in which the situation has been handled and you are bringing it to their attention in order that you can hopefully prevent other patients and families from being treated in such a manner, leaving people potentially vulnerable.

Finish also on a good note and make sure that you send the letter to the right in house department AND cc it to your local NHS trust offices. This ensures that you will get a positive response as niether recipient can brush it under the carpet and both will need to be seen to be taking action.

Good luck with it and like I said, don't be afraid to be really personal, go into detail and be very firm in your disappointment. Just make sure you remain polite throughout and praise anything that you have been happy with, even naming any nurses that you are happy with.

Hope you're all coping with the news and gimme a shout if you need anything.

xxx

[Gazza77]

For general use by anyone who feels the need to complain about the NHS service they/others have received.....

http://www.nhs.uk/aboutNHSChoices/Pages/Howtocomplaincompliment.aspx

[Speedy Claire]

Thanks guys!

Yeah, I think that if my mother doesn't write a letter to them I will.

Re my grandpa being told over the phone, what the hell would they have done if he had had a heart attack at the other end of it? anyone with a bit of decency in their body would have thought twice about that!


Am so sorry to hear such sad news... your family have been treated in an appalling manner and sometimes it makes me ashamed to say I work for the NHS.

Yes you must complain.........

http://www.nhsdg.scot.nhs.uk/dumfries/630.html

Personally I would contact them via the email addy on this link so that you have an electronic copy and I would also follow it up with the same complaint in a letter.

Tho it`s nice to hear positive comments I wouldn`t bother to put any. There are no positive comments in all of this so forget thanking them for all they`ve done so far and don`t bother acknowledging stuff such as staff shortages etc. You don`t have to butter them up cos they are in the wrong here. They have a duty to provide nursing care and they have failed in many ways to do that.

You need to be assertive when you write this letter. If you want to pm me the letter and i`ll cast an eye over it and let you know what I think.

Very best of luck and this might help you in writing your letter

http://www.nhsdg.scot.nhs.uk/dumfries/files/Complaints_Scotland_Sep07_lowres[1].pdf

[Milky Bar Kid]

Thanks for all the advice people, think my mum will be contacting her solicitor first though, as she had already spoken to them re last year so will see what they say first. I will keep you updated though! Thanks again, much appreciated xxx

[Milky Bar Kid]

Well, just back from hospital.

Not sure my gran will make it through the night to be honest, almost certain she won't see it through the weekend. Feel like I have been slapped in the face, punched in the teeth and kicked in the guts.

[yorkie_chris]

You have my most sincere condolences. In similar times myself it has always been a great aid to put the thoughts of my Mother first, helps you to keep control of your emotions if you need to remain strong for someone else.

[Speedy Claire]

Sorry to hear such sad news. I hope there`s no suffering and she passes with dignity x

[tinpants]

Sorry to hear such sad news. I hope there`s no suffering and she passes with dignity x

+1. So very sorry to hear this sad news.



Chin up mate. Try to keep smiling. Difficult in the circumstances I know but try to think of a situation when your Nan did something that made you smile. I used this technique when my Mum was dying and still use it now. It sort of takes the edge off the pain a bit.

[Holdup]

Ah thats c**p sorry to hear that, doesnt compare, but my Grandma has senial demensure (wrong sp) and the home she is in contacted my Dad today saying they are uping her drugs doseage or giving her something stronger as she is becoming violent :confused: My Dad and my Uncle (his brother) have never encoutered this when visting my Grandma and she cant even remember who they are! shes always asleep when they visit her. Seems NHS has lost all respect for patients and their families.

[-Ralph-]

So sorry to read this MBK.

Lost both my Grandmother's whilst in NHS care in Fife and had frustrations on both occasions with standards of care. The hospitals in Fife have always been good with sensitivity though.

It's not all like that, my Dad died in Victoria Hospital in Blackpool, having been moved to an NHS hospital in order to get intensive care treatment following an routine operation that went wrong in a BUPA hospital. It also turned out that the operation was the result of a misdiagnosis by BUPA doctors and was not necessary. Victoria hospital was fantastic with a highly trained nurse by his bedside 24/7, as ITU units usually are.

As hard as it is, especially with your gran who is still relatively young as old folk go, it's not pleasant to be really ill, especially when you know it is terminal and it's never going to get better. When my last grandmother died early this year though I actually felt a little bit of relief because I knew she was no longer suffering. It's really hard to let go of somebody, but I wouldn't have wanted my gran to live in hospital where she was suffering and desperately unhappy for any longer, when I knew she could never go home.

:grouphug: