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Care Opinion

My son

Posted By Scottirvine

"My son"

About: Crosshouse Hospital / Trauma & orthopaedics Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow / Accident & Emergency Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow / Critical Care

(as a parent/guardian),

My son was in a quad bike accident with my granddaughter 3 weeks ago. She thankfully is ok and been released from hospital.

My son was airlifted from the scene and taken to ICU at the Queen Elizabeth in Glasgow. He was in an induced coma for roughly a week, then awoken, and had his breathing tubes, etc., removed. He was then moved to the High Dependency Unit, then to Ward 65.

His treatment in these wards was very good and we are very grateful for it and certainly have no complaints at that stage. However, it was then decided to transfer him to Ward 2A at Crosshouse Hospital. I was given this information over the phone.

I contacted Ward 2A to check that they were suitable to take him. He had two broken legs which had been pinned down in Glasgow while he was in his coma. The ward in Crosshouse were not made fully aware of his brain injuries, only his legs as this is an orthopaedic trauma ward. They weren’t told that due to his brain injury he required one to one care as he repeatably tries to stand on his legs and leave the hospital.

I contacted ward 65 and told them that the ward wasn’t suitable for him, and that even the nurses on the ward said he was in the wrong place but the response from Ward 65 was to tell me that Crosshouse had accepted my son and he was now their problem. I was shocked at this after his great treatment there.

Now my son is in 2A at Crosshouse with a brain injury requiring nurses on a two-to-one or one-to-one basis with a brain injury and is receiving no neurological treatment at all.

To say he is distressed is a massive understatement. He has hardly slept and is constantly trying to get out of bed to go home. He cries because he thinks we are keeping him in there and can’t understand why we can’t take him home. He screams to get out and tries to crawl out on the floor. To say this is all disturbing is an understatement. It’s a living hell.


We have not been able to sleep in days. Everyone in the ward agrees he is in the wrong place and needs to be moved to a brain injury facility. Is there anyone we can contact regards this as I am both scared for him being stuck in this constant trauma state and distress in the wrong place?

We are bitterly disappointed at this handover as very little information was actually handed over and due to this he is stuck in a nightmare. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I would like to add that the nurses on this ward are all rallying round trying to deal with our son to the best of their abilities but it is very difficult for them as they are not trained for this type of brain injury patient. Surely there is a duty of care to both my son and the nurses, as at this very moment they have both been forced into a terrible situation which in my opinion is not at all suitable or safe for any of them.

 

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Responses

Response from NHS Ayrshire and Arran 5 years ago
NHS Ayrshire and Arran

Submitted on 10/10/2018 at 10:29
Published on Care Opinion at 10:49

Dear Scottirvine,

I have been asked to post this response on behalf of Dr Philip Korsah, Associate Medical Director for UHC (Crosshouse)

Dear Scottirvine,

I am so sorry to read your story. I am thankful for the fact that your granddaughter is doing well but I am so sorry to hear about your son’s terrible accident.

I appreciate that this is a very difficult time for you and your family but you have raised a number of points that we are very keen to look into and resolve. I would be grateful if you can contact Eunice Goodwin on 01563 826222 or email eunice.goodwin@aapct.scot.nhs.uk in the first instance or Dr Philip Korsah, The Associate Medical Director for UHC on 01563 826512 to enable us to do so. We will work with the staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to clarify this situation.

We take our duty of care to you, your family and our staff very seriously and this will be thoroughly reviewed with a view to understanding what happened and what actions are already being planned. We will do everything to ensure your son gets all the help he needs.

Kind regards

Phil

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Response from Eunice Goodwin, Patient Feedback Manager for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Quality Improvement and Governance Team, NHS Ayrshire and Arran 5 years ago
Eunice Goodwin
Patient Feedback Manager for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Quality Improvement and Governance Team,
NHS Ayrshire and Arran

I respond initially to most of the posts and ensure they are passed to the appropriate team whether they are compliments, observations or grumbles. It is important to make sure all issues are addressed and I try to encourage that to happen for all the posts as required.

Submitted on 10/10/2018 at 13:52
Published on Care Opinion at 13:55

picture of Eunice Goodwin

Dear Scottirvine,

Thank you so much for taking time to contact me off-line and give me additional details and information. I have passed this on as promised. I have also had a chat with Nicole from the Patient Experience team in GGC so we can collaborate on this and do all we can to help. Nicole is investigating this and she will be in touch soon.

I would also like to thank you for your kind towards about the staff in 2A, I will be sure to pass them on. It is always nice for staff to know that the care and attention they give is appreciated. When this kind feedback is given at a time of great stress and difficulty, it is appreciated even more.

Best wishes to you, your son and your family,

Eunice

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Response from Elaine Burt, Chief Nurse, Regional Services, NHSGGC 5 years ago
Elaine Burt
Chief Nurse, Regional Services,
NHSGGC

Submitted on 17/10/2018 at 15:29
Published on Care Opinion at 15:51

Dear ScottIrvine

I was very sorry to hear about your son’s accident and his current needs in Crosshouse Hospital. I appreciate this must be a worrying time for all of you.

I understand that you have contacted our Complaints Department and they will respond to you through the Complaints Process. However, it may be helpful for me to explain that your son’s care was in keeping with the clinical pathway for patients into the West of Scotland Neurosurgical Unit. Patients come for their acute neurosurgical management and when they are medically stable, transfer to their local hospital for the next stage of their care. We will contact our colleagues in Crosshouse Hospital to discuss your son’s transfer in order to understand what communication has taken place. I am sorry this has been a difficult transition in your son’s post acute care.

Kind Regards

Elaine Burt

Chief Nurse - Regional Services

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