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Mum mums care at Opal House

Posted By GCS

"Mum mums care at Opal House"

About: Wythenshawe Hospital

(as a relative),

I wish I could agree with the last persons feedback, but sadly our experience was very far from that. My mum was very ill when she went to Opal House. She hated it there. It was noisy and unfriendly. Her room didn't even have curtains. We had such high hopes that the unit would help her get her strength back, but she appeared to be ignored much of the time.

Two of her daughters lived a long way off. We were unable to contact our mum as her phone had dropped under her bed, and no one gave it back to her. When we did manage to finally get hold of her, it was very apparent that she was deteriorating rapidly.

Staff refused to speak to us about her care, and did not get a doctor to asses her. We felt one particular member of staff was actively rude and uncaring when we spoke to them. I couldn't get up from Dorset on that day, and they were only able to offer me a 'possible' discussion with the doctor in 5 days time if I drove up.

The next day they finally realised she had pneumonia and transferred her back to the hospital. By then it was too late, and beyond medical help. She died the next day.

The staff on AMU were fantastic. Such a contrast to our experience at Opal House.  We think she was left to suffer needlessly at Opal House, and that staff seemed to exhibit a total lack of appreciation of how difficult it is to support someone from a distance whilst at the same time holding down a job. I have had lots of experience with the NHS, but I have never come across such unhelpful staff. 

We had such high hopes of the Opal unit, but were severely let down.

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Responses

Response from Patient Experience Team, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust 6 years ago
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 30/01/2018 at 13:02
Published on Care Opinion at 13:56

Thank you for taking the time to write to us about your experience at Manchester NHS Foundation Trust Wythenshawe Site via the NHS Choices Website. It is important to us that comments are received so that we can make changes and improvements to the services we provide wherever possible.

Firstly, we would like to offer our sincere condolences at this difficult time.

Thank you for your kind words regarding your experience of the Acute Medical Unit and the staff working within this department and we will ensure your comments are shared with the team. However, we were sorry to learn that your experience was not as positive as we would hope at Opal House and apologise for the distress that this caused to you and your family.

We apologise that your mother’s room did not have any curtains in place. Opal House has a dedicated Housekeeper whose role it is to monitor and maintain the patient environment. Your concerns have been raised directly with the staff involved and additional monitoring has been put in place to ensure all patient areas are equipped with curtains at all times.

We are sorry if there was a delay in transferring your mother to an acute medical ward or in her receiving a medical review of her deteriorating condition. We appreciate that on occasion; patients’ condition can unexpectedly change or deteriorate. Nursing staff have received support and training in the use of the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) to ensure that any deterioration in patients’ condition can be identified at the earliest opportunity and escalated to medical staff to enable appropriate treatment to commence as required. This process is audited to ensure that it is being used effectively and appropriate and timely actions are being taken by nursing and medical staff.

The concerns relating to poor communication, professionalism and empathy that you received from staff is unacceptable, and does not reflect Manchester NHS Foundation Trust’s values and behaviours. Communication is important and where possible we encourage patients and their families to be actively involved in patients’ care management throughout their admission, including their safe discharge. Your comments have been shared with the team at Opal House so that they can be made aware of your experience.

We take all issues surrounding patient care and experience very seriously and would very much like to hear from you directly about your experience. If you could contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 0161 291 5600 or by emailing pals@mft.nhs.uk quoting reference number PO17/0358, they will be able to discuss this with you.

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