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Care Opinion

Father with End Stage Dementia

Posted By Princess2973

"Father with End Stage Dementia"

About: South Lanarkshire Council University Hospital Hairmyres / Care of the Elderly (Wards 13-16)

(as a relative),

My father was admitted to Hairmyres Hospital recently (he received his 4 home care visits on this day).

One week later, a Sunday, my father was declared medically fit for discharge.

Nusing staff called social work to restart my Fathers Home Care Services to be told that they only accept urgent referrals over the weekend and as Dad was admitted a week before they can’t assure that his package will still be in place and to call back on Monday at 7am when social work reopens.

My father has end stage dementia receives a full package of care, spending unnecessary time in hospital only has a negative effect on his health and wellbeing.

I find it shocking that social work can only restart services if the discharge is planned Monday-Friday.

I find this situation extremely distressing as I am now left in limbo to find out the situation with my fathers care package.

Nursing staff are supportive and called social work back to voice my concerns but there hands are tied by this agency and told the same thing by another person from this agency.

This can not be the first time that families have been in this position during weekends.

With the pressures within the NHS I can not understand why something as important as this can come to a standstill.

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Responses

Response from Neil Ferguson, Service Manager Care of the Elderly, University Hospital Hairmyres, NHS Lanarkshire 4 years ago
Neil Ferguson
Service Manager Care of the Elderly, University Hospital Hairmyres,
NHS Lanarkshire

Submitted on 18/06/2019 at 14:19
Published on Care Opinion at 14:51

Dear Princess2973,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us. I was sorry to hear of your father's experience and his difficulty accessing his package of care.

Being delayed in hospital is detrimental to any patient's health and wellbeing, but this will be even more pronounced for patients like your father, suffering from end stage dementia.

This type of issue has been escalated a few times recently. I can tell you that we have made contact with our Social work colleagues, who we work closely with, in order to understand how this type of break down occurs. It is not routine for restarts of services not to be accessed at the weekend, and yet this is what your father, and others, have experienced.

Hopefully, you will at least be reassured that we share your concern about your father's experience and that steps have begun to understand how it came about. Your comments are greatly appreciated and will help when we are liaising with our colleagues. Thanks again for taking the time to write to us.

Once again, I'm sorry for your father's experience. I hope he continues to be well.

Neil

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