"Frustrating Experience"

My elderly mother was admitted to the hospital due to a urinary infection.

Whilst her treatment for the infection would appear to be OK, communication with the staff is extremely frustrating and difficult.

The staff's standard response to any enquiry is to come to the hospital during the week to see the doctor.

They seem to fail to understand that most people work during the week and cannot afford to take an unpaid days off to make repeated visits to the hospital to find that first of all there is nowhere to park, secondly the doctor is not always available and thirdly even if you are lucky to be able to discuss concerns they often ignore your comments.

My mother is prescribed drugs whose side effects cause confusion and I feel that this exacerbates her dementia.

I have asked for the consultant to review the medication.

When I asked if this had happened no one could tell me.

Prior to her hospitalisation she was very mobile, able to get up and downstairs fairly easily. i understand that she has only walked once during the 3 weeks in hospital with the aid of two persons and yet despite repeating the same information to at least 10 members of staff that she will be unable to come home until she has a suitable bed, chairs, downstairs, unless they can improve her mobility, they do not appear to have a system of being able to pass on a message to the appropriate person and just repeat the same message that I will have to take unpaid time off work to discuss with a doctor.

She has had very little physiotherapy to improve her mobility and now has been transferred to a ward where this is not even available.