"End-of-life care without a GP."

A few weeks ago I comforted my Mum thru the night at the end of her life. As I quietly left the ward at 7.45am, the nurse gave me a bereavement leaflet & explained that I had been central for the end of life care team thru the night. Another nurse thanked me but no one walked me to my car, or asked me if I was ‘OK’ to drive home. I was the only visitor in the entire hospital [Royal Berkshire]. All pastoral services at the hospital were “closed until further notice”.

I had looked after mum alone at home for five years but doing it at the end with GPs refusing to come out for 3 weeks - and then being barred from the hospital for a week until the terminal diagnosis came thru was not easy. I was able to do my bit for 3 days at the end. The final lone walk out of an 'abandoned' hospital at 7.45am was chilling. The whole experience has done my head in.

A deadly game is being played between District nurses and GPs who I feel play pass the parcel. Using COVID as an excuse, GPs are refusing to come out and examine people in their homes. The game continues until the sufferer reaches the 999 stage. Paramedics then take over. In our case, the GP misdiagnosed the problem over the phone - as a steroid crisis - only an abdominal examination would have revealed blood clots in the lungs coming from terminal cancer. 

Mum passed away 10 days after the 999 event but we had been fobbed off by GPs for the previous 3 weeks. I had a district nurse on my driveway saying they were only here to look at the pressure sores, & not here to help with the breathing problems - this is the DN distancing herself from the GPs flawed diagnosis. I feel like the ambulance paramedics and district nurses and adult safeguarding people know what is happening.

God help anyone else in this situation. The COVID virus has been allowed to eclipse  other forms of suffering and terminal conditions. Cancer, heart disease, loneliness, dementia etc. Why ?