"Cold Called"

My father is presently in Poole Hospital in reference to an end stage chronic lung condition. Aside from working full time as an estate agent, lettings agent, land agent and property manager i have been a live-in carer to my father. I have awoken routinely at 4am to help him after only having minimal sleep. I feed him, assistance with cleaning, emptying and clean his night bag (catheter) every morning and routinely change weekly, emptying and cleaning his commode daily. I can return from work and find human waste (to put it nicely) in the carpet of the hallway and lounge. I clean this after a long day helping other people at work. I am on call 24 hours a day, every day.

I have just received a call stating I must arrange for carers to visit him twice a day at my father's cost. £80 per day for a total of 30 minutes care. Otherwise he won't be released from Hospital. This is a poor threat, as whilst my father has been in hospital for past few days, has given me some much needed rest bite. I arranged for carers to visit three mornings a week. The sole reason being someone else is seeing my father and all the weight of his care is not on my shoulders alone. The carers make him a coffee and bowl of cereal and give him a wash. That's it. I am grateful for this.

However, I don't see how arranging for carers to visit for 15 minutes, twice a day will help my father when I'm already covering all aspects of his care?????? I have spoken to a physio at Poole Hospital who presumed my father had already been supplied with a hospital bed. This is not the case. There was no mention of this being actioned and the reason I will be calling for an ambulance at 4:30am in the near future. With the COPD, my father has effectively 15% lung capacity and therefore can't move around a great deal. The admin staff seem to be completely unaware of this. More worrying don't really care and I except they simply want to get shot of my father and pass the buck back to me. No action plan of any kind is being arranged by staff of Poole Hospital.

Unfortunately, in the job that I do I've learned to know when I'm being fobbed off.

Perhaps a doctor or nurse could contact me. You have my contact details on file.

I await your explanation.

David Carritt