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"I would like to think that my fathers death was not in vain"

About: Mater Hospital / General Medicine

(as a relative),

My Father was admitted to Mater Hospital (Care of the Elderly) in June 2023. He arrived via ambulance, with paramedics querying chest infection/sepsis. Apart from the ‘sepsis protocol’ not being followed, it took 4 days after admission, for my father to finally be diagnosed with a chest infection.

Putting this aside, the care (or lack of) that my Father received whilst in care of the elderly was absolutely shocking!! From me asking for help to assist him to the bathroom and being told he had already been, to him not being given the correct Medication (after telling numerous times to nurses on ward). We, as a family were disgusted at the care my Father received whilst in the ‘care of the elderly’.

17 days after my Father being declared fit for discharge, he passed away from the same infection which was on his discharge letter, as well as suffering from sepsis. This comment does not even nearly go into detail the lack of care that my Father endured, so please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to hear more.

5 young grandchildren who had been with their Grandfather not long before had to be sat down and told not only that he was suddenly unwell, but that within a few weeks he had died. These children, along with the rest of the family were sent into absolute turmoil, with no warning that their Granda was unwell, he was just gone.

We want to fight to ensure that nobody else suffers from the lack of care that my Father received whist he was in the care that we trusted in the Mater hospital, and we are truly concerned that other things which happened to other patients during his stay are ongoing, what happens to those who do not have a family to stand up for them? To fight for them? To make sure they are getting the medication they need and are prescribed??  

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me for more information. If nothing else, I would like to think that my fathers death was not in vain, and that the next person will get better care than he did. I, aswell as the rest of my family, will never cross the doors of this hospital again, as we are truly disgusted at what we have seen, and the experience we had.

Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Bernie Carey, Service Manager, Mater Hospital, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust last month
We are preparing to make a change
Bernie Carey
Service Manager, Mater Hospital,
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Submitted on 11/03/2024 at 11:34
Published on Care Opinion at 11:41


Dear pelicanew47

My name is Bernie Carey and I am the service manager for the Mater Hospital. I wanted to contact you directly in relation to your story because I was so upset to hear about the pain that your family is going through. I want to thank you for reaching out and helping us as a Trust to learn and improve to prevent other families suffering.

I am sorry that your father’s care was not of the standard that you would expect and I can hear how frustrating and upsetting it was to not have appropriate communication from the staff about his treatment and issues around his medication. I can only imagine how unheard you and your family felt, and I commit that I am going to ensure that all staff across the Mater are asked to reflect on this story and change how they communicate with our patients and families.

As a Trust, we do not care for people in a bubble and how we deliver our care impacts greatly on those around them and your father’s grandchildren are a prime example of why it is so important that we strive to deliver the best possible care for everyone.

I would be really grateful if you, or your family would take the time to sit with me and allow me to explore your father’s journey in our care together so that I might learn more about how we could have improved and what changes we can make. I know these are dark days, and no words will change this pain for you all, however I hope that this commitment to learn and improve will in some small way aid your healing in these worst of times.

Please do get in touch, via email Bernie.Carey@belfasttrust.hscni.net so that we can arrange a time to meet.

My deepest condolences to you all,

Bernie.

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