"Lack of patient-centred care in the clinical assessment unit"

Dad was admitted via A&E following an acute ischaemic stroke. He was confused, frustrated and scared following his diagnosis. Upon entry to CAU there was an obvious cloying smell of body fluids and when accompanying my Dad to the bathroom found it to be even stronger smelling with evidence of urine all over the toilet and even more worryingly the floor. He remained an inpatient with CAU overnight and we were contacted late the next morning to collect him as he was being discharged.

Upon discharge, my Dad had been placed in the seated area where there were at least 12 patients in the small space of a usual 4-bedded bay. There were patients coming and going all around my Dad with no attempt at infection control despite my Dad being a vulnerable patient.

More than one patient was discharged, vacating their seat and the next patient went into that seat without it being cleaned in between. Similarly the water jugs and cups used by the 2 patients next to my Dad were left in situ long after they were discharged. There were even 2 patients being screened for flu/covid in that small area, again with no regard for other patients' vulnerabilities nor any attempt to preserve the patients' rights to confidentiality/data protection.

When we arrived to collect Dad there was no one around who could give us information about my Dad. The staff member we approached did not know who my Dad was nor what the doctors had said nor what was to happen now. Eventually the nurse read, not discreetly, from my Dad's notes, disregarding patient confidentiality, gave us very little useful information and when we politely asked if we could speak to a doctor for advice in a bit more privacy she disappeared and never returned.

We sat for a further 60 mins or so with no information whilst my Dad seemed to deteriorate. We asked another nurse for help as my Dad was more confused and we wanted discharge advice. We were concerned because Dad had very little recollection of any tests being done nor the consultant visit which decided his discharge. He couldn't remember any advice he was given by the consultant and some of what Dad was saying seemed to contradict what medical staff had said the previous day. This made Mum and I worry even more and need clarification.

The nurse became increasingly harassed by our questions and, from her outward demeanour and the manner in which she spoke to us, it became obvious that we were regarded a nuisance asking for that advice instead of just taking Dad home. The whole underpinning of the nursing profession is the 6 Cs. There was not a lot of the Cs evidenced in the care with my Dad during our few hours in CAU.

We were told we could wait to see a nurse practitioner, the doctors being unavailable. Eventually we were seen by a nurse practitioner who, to her credit, was extremely kind and patient with us and Dad. She recognised our need for privacy, taking us to a separate room to chat and did everything she could to answer questions, give advice and clarify some conflicts within Dad's care and aftercare. She showed what good practice in nursing should be, the way we had expected Dad and a frightened family to have been treated whilst in the care of the ward.

In the main, my Dad was not treated with respect or given the comprehensive care required by his medical condition. This leads to a loss of confidence in NHS Forth Valley's ability to deal with any need my family has in the future. It was certainly not patient-centred care in CAU.