"Friendly Staff But ....."

My mother in law had a life threatening subarachnoid haemorrhage in January and was rushed to the RVI in Newcastle where we received outstanding care.

We met the consultant each day, there was always a nurse at hand, every question we asked was answered - no matter how stupid it appeared.

Projections of realistic recovery expectations were explained.

Then she came back to Carlisle.

It took 4 weeks to finally co-ordinate a meeting of staff (we had no discussion with anyone before then) and then only physio and OT turned up.

Few questions were really answered, we asked every week about getting a wheelchair to take MIL downstairs for a coffee and were told she couldn't balance properly.

Week after week she was going to be measured up for one and wasn't.

After mentioning several times that we were worried about confusion which she hadn't had before, then headaches it was discovered that she had fluid on her brain again.

She waited 2 full days for a lumber puncture because there weren't any senior staff free to do it.

Every time I needed to speak to a nurse I had to stand in the corridor and wait for between an hour and 90 mins for one of the few nurses to be free.

They rarely knew what was happening and we were given many different explanations about what was happening.

One nurse suggested my MIL would go to the RVI have her shunt fitted and return the same day - even though we told her we couldn't see how that would possibly happen. They stopped her physio but couldn't explain why and stopped getting her out of bed.

10 days later she was referred back to the RVI - who couldn't understand why she hadn't been out of bed or why physio had been stopped.

Once there she immediately started physio - even before she'd had her brain shunt operation.

Instead of being left in bed every day, she was in her chair for a few hours each day and just a few days after her operation we were able to take her out and about every visit in a wheelchair.

The difference between the two hospitals is chalk and cheese.

In later years every single day is precious and spending it in bed when you've led a full and active life is at the very least depressing and cannot possibly be conducive to overall progress.

If RVI staff can sort out a wheelchair overnight I really don't understand why staff IN Carlisle can't do the same.

Travelling to visit in Newcastle is time consuming and expensive but worth it because the level of care is so superior.

I feel disloyal because it is my hometown but honestly, it feels as though my elderly MIL was just written off because of her age.

So disappointing - I'm dreading her coming back to Carlisle.