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My dads death

Posted By NJB25

"My dads death"

About: Birmingham Hospice – Erdington

(as a relative),

My dad went into John Taylor hospice in April 2014.

The day staff were truly amazing and couldn't do enough to make us feel calm and help my dad feel safe. They explained what was going to happen to prepare myself and my mom for my dads eventual death.

The same can't be said of a member of night staff who was cold and very matter of fact that my dad would die. The other staff were lovely and supportive, my dad died the next morning when we were all present.

After he died the staff washed, shaved and changed his pajamas and maintained his dignity that I cannot ever thank them enough. Majority of the staff made his death bearable for us.

We were referred to the Marie Curie nurses from Good Hope hospital but it felt like instead of giving the comfort and reassurance that he needed my dad was told he would die sooner than he thought. We also had Macmillan nurses the first called Sarah was exceptional and provided amazing care. The nurse following that we only saw once and they were cold and matter of fact. They could never be reached on the telephone leaving us very much on our own when things were at their darkest.

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Responses

Response from Marie Curie 9 years ago
Marie Curie

Submitted on 20/02/2015 at 08:24
Published on Care Opinion at 09:19

Dear NJB25

I'm sorry to hear about some of the experiences you, your mom and dad had at the end of his life - I'm particularly sorry that you had some poor experiences of Marie Curie nurses.

I would really like to hear from you so that I can find out more about what happened, and make sure that we learn from this so that a similar situation does not happen again. Marie Curie tries hard to improve our services based on the comments we receive from our patients and their families.

You can leave your contact number through Patient Opinion and I will give you a call, or you can call me on 020 7091 4185 to speak with me directly.

I would also like to offer my condolences for your loss.

With best wishes

Ben Gadd

Head of Patient and Carer Experience

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Response from Diane Parkes, Head of Brand & Media, Brand & Media, John Taylor Hospice 9 years ago
Diane Parkes
Head of Brand & Media, Brand & Media,
John Taylor Hospice

Submitted on 20/02/2015 at 10:10
Published on Care Opinion at 13:40

Thank you for sharing your experiences of John Taylor Hospice. It really matters and it really makes a difference when family members get in touch. We learn and we improve. The standard that you describe as “truly amazing” is the experience that we want everyone who comes to us to have. Your experience on the night shift falls below these standards and, on behalf of the company, I apologise for this.

We would like to review the care that we gave to you and your family so that we can learn from your experience. We realise that Patient Opinion is confidential and if you would like to make direct contact with us, your confidentiality will be fully protected. We choose cases on a regular basis for review to make sure everyone who works here understands why “truly amazing” is such an important standard.Our Nurse Consultant Sarah Bache would do this review with respect to your Dad, Mom and yourself. She starts with what is recorded in the notes. She will review the roster to look at the night shift team over that period. She will then bring the staff involved in caring for your Dad, you and your Mom together to review what went well and where we fell short of our standards, to remedy this. If you would like to speak to Sarah, you can. There is no obligation inherent in my asking you this, you may feel your comments on Patient Opinion do what is needed in sharing your experience.

Some family members ask to be involved in another of our review processes called Every Story Matters where they share their experiences directly with a group of staff. Sandy Robinson, one of senior nurses, supports people who would like to tell their story to our staff.

If you would like to be involved in Every Story Matters please contact us. Again this is your choice and the process goes at your pace not ours. We do not want to cause any distress to you in recalling the final days of your Dad’s life.

If you would like to take up any of these options or talk to us generally please contact our head of brand and media Diane Parkes on 0121 465 2000 or diane.parkes@nhs.net

It really does matter. The standard that you describe as “truly amazing” is the experience that we want everyone who comes to us to have from all of our staff.

Kate Phipps, CEO, John Taylor Hospice

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