"Care of Elderly mother"

I used myGP app to contact my 86 year old mum's GP regarding concerns I had with her health, I spoke with the GP over the phone and mum was diagnosed with a UTI and given 3 days of antibiotics.

My mother's condition deteriorated after day 3 of taking antibiotics so this time I called the GP at 8.45am asking for a house call. The GP called me back and said he thinks my mother still has a UTI and will call for an ambulance to take my mother to University Hospital Wishaw and will contact the medical ward and let them know my mother is being referred. I was advised by the GP an ambulance would take up to 1-2 hours to arrive.

The ambulance did not arrive until around 17.30 pm, I had several calls from Scottish Ambulance Service apologising for the delay but that they were within their 'targets'. I stressed how poorly my mother was and she really needed to go to the hospital. I was informed, in line with the priority category she was placed in, she would have to wait. 

When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics assessed mum was told there was no sign of Sepsis. The paramedics were asked which hospital my mother would be going to and was told Wishaw. We asked for this to be checked and the paramedic got in touch with the control room and confirmed that mum had to go to Wishaw. 

The paramedics then transported my mother to University Hospital Wishaw only for us to be told, once in Wishaw A&E, that mum was not on the list and she had to be transferred to  University Hospital Hairmyers.

Once at University Hospital Hairmyers, my mother was taken into the A&E department to be assessed, we had to wait another 5  hours before she saw a doctor. It was another 30 mins before IV antibiotics were administered and another 30 mins before being transferred to Ward 2.

The next day my mother was transferred to Ward 13 and she spent 7 days there. In those 7 days we were told very little about mum's condition, I learned from my mother that she had a scan, we were told nothing of this by staff. Every time I called to speak to mum's doctor I was told I couldn't and had to speak with a nurse instead. We were told mum was being treated for an infection, However, I did feel the nurses and health care assistants were doing a good job looking after mum at ward level.

It wasn't until mum was discharged and home did I then read her discharge letter and learned that my mother had been diagnosed and treated for sepsis. The discharge letter also stated that mum was admitted with 'Confusion' while ignoring all the other symptoms mum she had.

 I note NHS Lanarkshire prides itself on SEPSIS and involved in many initiatives but when it came to my mother, these best practice initiatives were in short supply.

There are lots of failures in the care of my mother;

 GP failed to see my mother face to face so that a proper diagnosis could be made, Ambulance took 8 hours 

Why did the paramedic not recognise sepsis?

It would appear the Scottish ambulance service was in disarray and did not have up to date hospital information.

University Hospital Hairmyers A&E department did not have access to medical doctors to assess, diagnose and treat my mother in a timely manner.

My view is that NHS Lanarkshire's Sepsis pathway is dysfunctional and dangerious.