"Lack of care"

Over Christmas my mother was admitted to Tameside Hospital. On admittance her care from nurses was excellent. Mum was eventually transferred to the heart ward. In Jan 13 Mum was accessed as fit enough to be sent home. My mum is in the first stages of vascular dementia, can not walk very far, and has diabetes. I care for her and take care of her needs so she can stay in her home. Mum was accessed fit, even though her legs were swollen and I disagreed that she was well enough to go home and was sent home without any help from the transfer team, she was sent home with a water infection and her legs had an infection by her sitting from morning to evening without her legs being raised even though I continually told Nurses that mum was prone to infections to her bladder and legs. Mum did have her urine tested where it was positive with an infection. She was not given any antibiotics even though the Nurses had known the week before of her urine infection. The nurses did not seem to understand a patient with dementia and feel they should be more dementia aware. On discharge I had to find a wheelchair myself to transfer my mum from the ward on the south side to the north entrance. On getting mum home I began to phone social services to try and get help, it was a Friday and did manage to contact emergency services there was no help until mum was accessed for her needs. Later in the evening mum took for the worse because of her infections and had to call Go to Doc he said the infections were severe and if she went worse through the night to call for an ambulance. I felt that if mum returned to Tameside she would not have come back out. I gave her my care, looked after her until Social Service took over where they arranged night sitters for a couple of nights because the infections had effected her badly and help from the reablement team for six weeks until she was well enough. The care from Social Services was superb. I was disgusted in the way mum was discharged. The unit was mixed and both men and lady patients used the same bathrooms and toilet facilities. There was an incident on Boxing Day night concerning a male Nurse and feel this contributed to the disgraceful way in mums discharge from the ward without her having a proper and correct assessment of her well being for her return home.