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Mixed care depending on who was on shift

Posted By district999

"Mixed care depending on who was on shift"

About: Forth Valley Royal Hospital / Gastroenterology

(as a relative),

My father has recently been an inpatient in Ward B32 FVRH.

The care was very varied depending on which member of staff was on duty. My main difficulty is that fluid balance charts/bowel charts appeared to be a waste of paper. My father who was supposed to have 3x BO per day was on a bowel chart.

On one particular occassion I commented to staff that he had not had a BO for over 24 hours according to chart. Nor had he had anything to drink or pass water for over 48 hours. I was informed that he had but that the chart wasnt filled up and was assured that senior staff were advised if a BO had occurred, on another occassion the nurse then filled the chart in while we were there with not only the frequency but the size and type....Pretty good since she didnt even know he had been until told.

As a member of the nursing profession myself I live by the rule that if it's not written down at the time then it didn't happen. I think to improve the ward area staff should be made more aware of patients needs. i.e. if a patient unable to self feed do not put tray down then walk away, then remove tray saying...oh you not hungry.

Patients require good position whilst eating etc and this was definitely an area which could be improved upon, on a few occassions my father was wearing more of his dinner rather than eating it, and this was purely down to positioning. I dont know anyone who can eat lying down with a bed table higher than their head!

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Responses

Response from Arlian Mallis, Person Centred Health and Care Co-ordinator, Department of Nursing, NHS Forth Valley 9 years ago
Arlian Mallis
Person Centred Health and Care Co-ordinator, Department of Nursing,
NHS Forth Valley

Submitted on 19/12/2014 at 11:30
Published on Care Opinion at 16:10

Thanks very much for sharing this information with us. I am sorry that your dads care was variable, and you are right to point out aspects of care that you felt were not of an acceptable standard.

I have shared this with the Charge Nurse in the area, she is currently on leave but will respond to you on her return. In the meantime if you wish to discuss any of the issues raised you can contact me directly by email - arlian.mallis@nhs.net

I would be happy to speak to you.

Arlian

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Response from Arlian Mallis, Person Centred Health and Care Co-ordinator, Department of Nursing, NHS Forth Valley 9 years ago
Arlian Mallis
Person Centred Health and Care Co-ordinator, Department of Nursing,
NHS Forth Valley

Submitted on 07/01/2015 at 09:57
Published on Care Opinion at 10:08

Hi, thank you for taking time to tell us about the care of your father, and highlight areas that you think we could have done better. Firstly can I apologise that you were concerned about the completion of the documentation in relation to stool charts and fluid balance. Documentation is an essential component of nursing practice; your posting has given us the opportunity to undertake a quality check of our current practice.

In relation to your father’s assistance with nutrition, again I am sorry that you feel there were inadequacies. I fully agree with your comments about position and ensuring patients have access to and assistance where required with meals. I have discussed both of the issues raised with my staff at our safety briefs and will continue to ensure that we monitor these aspects of care, to ensure they are of the highest standard.

I would be happy to discuss any of these concerns further, I hope your father is making a good recovery and wish you both well.

Many thanks

Irene Martin

SCN ward 32B

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