My mother (aged 87) had a hip replacement opertaion in March 2015. The operation itself went well and the hospital staff were competent and helpful. The OT/PT signed her off as able to leave hopsital after watching her make the short walk from her bed to the loo with a zimmer frame. This of course bore no relation to the mobility she would need to be able to cope at home.
The problem came when mum was discharged. She couldn't get into a normal car and so we had to rely on hospital ambulance which was only available at the end of the day. mum waited in the discharge ward from 9am until 5pm and although she was warn and had cups of tea and lunch she was not encouraged to walk. The ambulance driver brough mum into the house in a wheelchair. It took 15 minutes and physical assistance from myself and the ambulance driver to move her from the whhelchair into her comfortable chair. They then left - and I was left with no instructions about what mum could and couldn't do, and no-one to ring for advice.
Mum is a determined person and so she and I between us got her to the loo and into bed. We luckily had a commode in the house and I made that accessible for her in the nigh.
In the morning I rang the ward, apoke to the PT who said she was mobile enough to be discharged and this was not their problem.
They had no advice to give. Eventually our excellent GP mobilised the help we needed and the following day the community health team swung into action. Mum needed blood-thinning injections every day and there was no discharge letter to the community nurse team - it was only my phone call that alerted them.
Oh and by the way the hospital thought mum was coming back to an empty house.
My concern was that mum's expensive and sucessful hip operation was jeopardised by the lack of communciation between the hospital and the community team. Wuthout mum's determination and my presence mum would have had a humilaiting night unable to get to the loo and then probably rehospitalisation.
"Hospital discharge"
About: Royal Bournemouth General Hospital Royal Bournemouth General Hospital Bournemouth BH7 7DW
Posted via nhs.uk
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