"The outstanding work being done in Ward 3C"

Ward 3C Gartnavel General Hospital Glasgow - SCN Gemma and DCN Ruth

 

I would like to provide some feedback regarding the treatment and care my Mum received following a recent fall and hope to explain why the deterioration in her health was such a devastating shock to our family.

As background, my Mum is 87 years old and up until the day of her accident was living independently and going out 6 days a week. The outings were varied and comprised of clubs and going out with my brother. She does have dementia but was generally “remarkable” for her age.

In December 2018 Mum slipped and broke her hip on a recently laid walkway which we have subsequently discovered has been the cause of a number of incidents as, when wet, the paving becomes “like an ice rink”. On the day of the accident the paving was wet.

Mum was taken to the Royal Infirmary and had a partial hip replacement carried out by an ankle specialist. Following the operation my Mum suffered delirium and it became clear her cognition was affected. Mum was in the care of the Royal and also moved to the Queen Margaret’s. Overall, conditions were poor and despite the best efforts of many staff, it is fair to say I lost faith in the care of patients in the NHS during this time.

However, that is not the purpose of this letter. I want to share our experience when Mum was moved to Ward 3C of Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow later in December. This ward is headed by Gemma and deputised by Ruth.

This unit and the care and attention my Mum received in this unit totally restored my confidence and in my opinion was a “diamond in the dark place we found ourselves in”. The understanding, compassion and support we received was immense. It really felt as if Gemma was “looking after her own Mum” and hearing from other relatives in this unit they also appeared to “sing the praises of the unit”. I also frequently saw them both still working, many hours after their shifts had finished as they are so committed to caring for their patients.

To provide additional context, I live in Harrogate and my brother, in Bishopbriggs. So, whilst my brother was able to visit most days, I visited every weekend and at Christmas while on holiday. Trying to cope with this from 250 miles away was challenging. However, after Mum went in the care of Gemma/Ruth in Ward 3C, my anxiety disappeared, as much as it could, in the knowledge she was safe and in the best possible place. Each day I called and on many occasions Gemma or Ruth always personally made the time to reassure me and let me talk to my Mum.

Mum was put into a Cohort unit, comprising of 4 patients in a room with 24 hour nursing, ensuring that care and support is always on hand if the patients need assistance and of any kind. This unit also provided all the medical attention that is required and Mum’s consultant, Dr Capek, also delivered excellent care and attention.

In Mum’s time in the unit every effort was made to aid her recovery - she was given time to recover with care and understanding and above all was “safe” being in the Cohort rooms.

Mid January after meetings with the teams looking after Mum it was decided nothing more could be done within Gartnavel, however further rehabilitation would help and provide additional time to improve Mums cognition and physical recovery.

At this point she was moved to the rehabilitation unit at Westerton Care Home in Bearsden.

Unfortunately, my once independent Mum is now staying in Westerton permanently as her cognition has not recovered and her walking needs the assistance of a walking frame etc.

The journey that I and my brother have been on has led to fundamental changes in the way we organise our lives to assist in supporting Mum and whilst very challenging and driven by the stress of observing the poor conditions during the initial phase of treatment, the Gartnavel experience and in particular, Gemma, has restored my faith that the NHS can be great and the people who work in it can make an outstanding experience out of challenging and stressful situations and with meagre resources. I felt that this really needed to be brought to your attention. Gemma leads from the top and her team provide positive, kind and compassionate care

Ward 3C with Gemma and Ruth provided spectacular and most importantly safe care for Mum, and they gently supported and guided me and my brother through the journey leading to Mum being in Westerton.

I wanted to express our gratitude and draw to your attention the outstanding work being done in Ward 3C at Gartnavel Hospital.

Kindest regards