"Mum’s hospital care"

My mum recently found herself in hospital with aspirate pneumonia. Initially she was very poorly but thanks to A&E & HDU staff she rallied round after spending over a week in hospital. She was stepped down to a General Medicine ward before being discharged home. 

Some thing you should know about my mum is that she is fully dependent on others to provide her care for her. This ranges from personal care, eating & drinking and mobilising.

On packing her things prior to her discharge I noticed that the brand new tooth brush and tooth paste I had bought for her were still in the sealed packaging. I asked her if her teeth were brushed while she had been in hospital. She replied, no. While she was in HDU she was too unwell and I very much understood that as we (family & nurses) we’re giving her oral care with the pink sponges and cold water/ mouth wash. But since she was better not one person who had attended to her personal care needs had offered or asked if she wanted her teeth brushed.

My mum gets her teeth brushed twice a day at home, like me and like most people who would’ve cared for her so I question why wasn’t her oral care attended to while in hospital? I know the importance of proper, good oral hygiene and how it can aid with positive patient outcomes. I am honestly appalled that this very basic need was not met when she was being washed and dressed or when getting ready for bed.