"My Grandad's Care in Hospital"

Cleanliness

Finding your way

Food

Liquid

Personal belongings

Things to do

Keeping in touch

Staff attitude

Staff skills

Calling for help

Pain relief

Explanations

Care staff

 

My Grandad has been admitted to Rotherham Hospital recently and I'm very worried about him and keen to know how he is doing however I don't know how best to do this. Am I able to ring the ward to ask for an update? The last thing I want to do is add to the staff's already busy workload, so I'm not sure how best to go about finding out how he is progressing. Even when actually there visiting I'm not sure who I am supposed to ask? I think a lot of people who don't visit hospital very often must also be unsure what best to do, because I imagine the majority of people would have questions about their relatives progress (especially when they are elderly and confused and can't tell you themselves) but are also keen to not interrupt staff, know which staff to ask (there are so many different uniforms and name badges aren't always clear!) or even if they are allowed to ask. Because of this it would be really helpful if there was a small notice or hand out that explained what to do when visiting and if you would like to know what's going on with their treatment etc. This could perhaps be stuck next to all beds or at the entry to each ward, sort of like a small list of FAQs.

My Grandad has been taken to hospital because he has a really poorly back and is struggling to sit down/stand up etc. Although he lives at home on his own, he has carers that come and see him regularly throughout the day. I believe the reason he is being kept in hospital is because they are giving him medication to control his back pain. I went to visit him last night and was impressed with the care I saw. When we arrived he was sat in the chair next to his bed with a dressing gown on looking cosy and fairly content. The whole family are very nervous about this hospital stay because when he went to hospital for something minor last year, he ended up with a UTI, very dehydrated and ended up staying in for a lot longer than planned. This lead to him becoming extremely confused, it was as though he had developed dementia over night and it was very upsetting and scary for him and the family. Because he became so confused and disorientated his health declined drastically and he had to be discharged to a care home for several weeks before then being allowed home. Because of this we are anxious that he does not stay in hospital for any longer than necessary and that he remains hydrated. Without his normal home life routine, he drinks far less water and we are keen to ensure he drinks plenty while in hospital, so I was pleased when we arrived to see he had a glass of water in front of him and two full water jugs. That said, when he isn't very well, he doesn't tend to remember to have a drink unless prompted. Last time he was in hospital we requested that he be put on a drip to help keep him hydrated, this took a long time to action, but he improved significantly once he was put on a drip. We have now requested he be put on a drip again, because he is already getting very confused and upset, the staff on the ward said they would look into it so I hope this can happen soon.

 My Grandad was absolutely fine a week ago in terms of understanding everything, knowing what's going and not getting confused, but now that he has been in hospital for a few days he is already very confused, he can't remember where he is, why he is there, where he lives etc and is getting very confused about all sorts.

I spoke to a member of staff who was on the ward to ask if we could have an update on how he is doing and what his treatment plan is etc but I wasn't sure if I should have asked her or if I should be interrupting her. She kindly said she will ask and after finishing a few jobs she came back to us and took a few minutes to explain. This was very much appreciated as we know staff are run off their feet and there's so many other patients that need attending to, which can't be easy at visiting times when lots of visitors also have lots of questions about their loved ones. So, remembering to come back to us and take the time to let us know everything and explain it to us clearly was a huge help and very much appreciated. She explained that the physio tried to get him out of bed earlier using some certain apparatus and that he seemed very unsteady and they weren't happy with that, I think she said they were going to try again the next morning. As desperate as I am to see him able to go home, I'm pleased they are ensuring that he is definitely stable enough to do so. I also noticed that when she was explaining this to us, she used my grandad's name and tried to include him in the conversation, even if it was just with a little eye contact here and there because he didn't really understand. This was something I really appreciated too, as I know it can be very upsetting for my grandad to feel he is been "spoken about" rather than spoken with. My grandad also said the food is great (better than the food at home apparently!) and that he has been able to sleep at night which is really reassuring to hear.

The upsetting thing is that he is just so confused, when we arrived he thought we were taking him home and was really upset that we weren't, he doesn't know what to do with himself as at home he has the telly to watch and puzzles to do and carers visiting, but in hospital he just sits there, but I know that this can't be helped. He was saying that all his stuff is at home and he can't stay in hospital as he doesn't have any clothes. It turns out he did have a bag of clean clothes that a family member had taken for him, but my grandad either wasn't aware or had forgotten. I wonder therefore if staff had asked him at all if he would like to get changed. He can't get changed himself as he can't stand up and always says that he feels like a burden, so although I told him he can ask staff to help him put his pjs on etc. I know that he won't because he won't want to cause a fuss or he will forget to ask, or forget that he has any clothes at all. Because of this it would be really helpful and reassuring if staff reminded him he has clothes and can get changed if he likes. But, I'm not actually sure which members of staff on the ward are responsible for this, had I known, I could have maybe told him who to ask e.g "If you see one of the men in the dark blue clothes you can ask them to help you".

I am sorry that I have written rather a lot, but overall I am very pleased with the care. I would just like to know how best to gain information and updates, and if there's anything more we can do to help him understand that he can ask for help. I think most people know to press the call button if you need to ask for assistance, but I should imagine many people who are confused about why they are in hospital etc may not know to use this button. So I wonder if a laminated prompt with a photo/diagram of the call button, with a reminder to press it for questions/help/toilet etc. could be put on the table infront of/ to the side of patient's beds to remind them. I really do think this could have a considerable impact for patients who are confused or feel like they don't want to bother anybody like my Grandad does, even if this was just implemented for a trial on elderly care wards. Would this be possible at all?

Also, the hospital was spotless which is fab! The only small problem was that on my way out I had to try about five different hand sanatizer dispensers before I found one that worked/ wasn't empty.