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end of life care in hospital

Posted By Almac

"end of life care in hospital"

About: Victoria Hospital / Admissions Unit 1 (Emergency Medical) Victoria Hospital / Palliative Care and Hospice Victoria Hospital / Stroke

(as a relative),

My mother had a major stroke and was taken to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy. She was in her early 80s and had been living independently but with very severe arthritic pain and immobility.

The Assessment Unit staff , doctors and nurses were extremely caring, helpful and attentive to myself and partner as we spent the first 24 hrs with her - day and night. The junior doctor was clear in his explanation of what had happened and in the prognosis which was very important to us. The move to the specialist ward , ward 42 was made and my mum received there with great care and we settled her for what was to become a further 7 days before she died.

The staff on the ward were exceptionally caring and attentive in every single respect. My partner and close family were there constantly and observed the huge degree of loving care, respect  and excellent medical observation / palliative care. The helpfulness of nurses and doctors in answering questions , responding quickly when we had concerns about mums comfort or changing needs , and making it possible for us to be with her day and night made a very difficult time so much more bearable. Small acts of kindness make a huge difference, and I noticed each of these and hugely valued them. My brother arrived from Australia and great efforts were made to help him see mum immediately and make him comfortable with the difficult situation he had arrived to.

My mum was treated with gentleness, and great respect. As the next of kin, I was listened to, included, respected and cared for . I could not have asked for a better team to care for my mum. This was across all the shifts and teams that attended my mum- nurses, assistants, cleaning staff, doctors and consultants were uniformly and consistently attentive and caring. At the end, when she died, the support offered was immediate and appropriate without being intrusive. I cannot thank all the staff enough. They are a huge credit to their professions, their hospital and to the NHS.

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Responses

Response from Fiona MacKenzie, Clinical Services Manager, Palliative Care & Inpatients, West Division 5 years ago
Fiona MacKenzie
Clinical Services Manager, Palliative Care & Inpatients,
West Division

Submitted on 29/06/2018 at 09:46
Published on Care Opinion at 11:41

picture of Fiona MacKenzie

Thank you for taking the time to give us feedback at what must be a difficult time for you and the family. It is so reassuring to be told that good Palliative and End of Life Care is entirely possible in any ward and not just a Hospice. Our teams work closely together to achieve this, so its great to hear about your experience.

We know this experience means so much to families and really helps people cope with the loss of a loved one.

Best wishes to your family.

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Response from Wendy Hutchison, Clinical Nurse Manager, Emergency Care Directorate, NHS Fife 5 years ago
Wendy Hutchison
Clinical Nurse Manager, Emergency Care Directorate,
NHS Fife

Submitted on 29/06/2018 at 09:50
Published on Care Opinion at 11:41

Dear Almac,

Thank for taking the time to give us feedback in relation to your Mother's time in hospital.

I am very sorry to hear of her death and would want to offer my condolences to you and your family.

As the Senior Charge Nurse of Admissions Unit One I am delighted that you found the doctors and nurses who work here caring and helpful. We always want to give the highest standard of care and looking after patients and relatives in a compassionate and meaningful way is why we came into Nursing.

I will ensure your comments are passed on to my team.

Best Wishes

Wendy Hutchison

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Response from Esther Pow, Clinical Nurse Manager, Emergency Care Directorate, NHS Fife 5 years ago
Esther Pow
Clinical Nurse Manager, Emergency Care Directorate,
NHS Fife

Submitted on 29/06/2018 at 10:23
Published on Care Opinion at 11:41

picture of Esther Pow

Dear Almac,

I am so sorry to hear about your loss, it must be very difficult to have lost someone as special from your life like your Mother. It's really very much appreciated that you have taken the time to tell us about your experience at such a sad time. I am so pleased to hear that the staff involved in her care were respectful and able to give patient and family centred care to meet all your family needs in such a human and caring way. I am also very proud to hear the staff described in such a positive light. Your post has made it very clear how grateful you have been for the caring behaviours and I will be pleased to share this with the staff involved in your mothers care. Such positive feedback helps to continue to influence future care as it is very motivational for staff to know when they have managed to get things right.

Many Thanks and best wishes to you and your family

Esther

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Update posted by Almac (a relative)

Thank you for this response. It is great to know that this will be passed on to the Ward 42 staff in particular. Thank you for replying.

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