My mum was transferred to the ARI in January from Dr Gray's in Elgin following a heart attack as the treatment she required, an angiogram and 2 stents fitted, could not be carried out at Dr Gray's.
The ambulance staff who transported her from Elgin were 2 lovely ladies who were very reassuring as my mum was very nervous about going to ARI for treatment.
The staff at the ARI were brilliant, even though it appeared they were extremely over worked and over stretched, and her care from the staff on the cardiac ward could not be faulted for the 3 days she was admitted.
However, on the day she was due to be discharged she spent all afternoon and most of the evening waiting for new meds to arrive on the ward from the pharmacy.
I made the journey through from Elgin arriving at ARI at 3:00 pm to pick her up but at 7:00pm we were still waiting for the meds to arrive. At 7:00pm one of the Auxiliaries volunteered to go to the pharmacy to see if the meds were ready for pick up, however they had just left and were on their way to the ward. In the end they took almost an hour to arrive on the ward, getting to us at 7:50pm.
In the almost 5hrs I was with my mum on the ward awaiting discharge, she got increasingly fraught and emotional by the long delay, something which we could have both happily have avoided given the already stressful situation we'd had of her being in hospital for 8 days, combined with the 2hr journey to get back to Elgin.
For my mum this was an unnecessary stress added on top of the already emotional and physically draining experience of having had a heart attack and undergoing.
It seemed to be a widely known issue as Dr Gray's had provided her with all the meds they anticipated she would need on discharge to avoid having to hang around waiting on the pharmacy, but unfortunately the doctors at ARI had changed her new medications on the day of discharge.
"Mum's admission for Cardiac Treatment"
About: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary / Cardiology / Coronary Care Unit Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Cardiology / Coronary Care Unit AB25 2ZN Aberdeen Royal Infirmary / Pharmacy Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Pharmacy Aberdeen AB25 2ZN Scottish Ambulance Service / Patient Transport Service Scottish Ambulance Service Patient Transport Service EH12 9EB
Posted by Quine's Gone Walking (as ),
Responses
See more responses from Lesley Kay
See more responses from Catriona Robbins
See more responses from David King