It seems that hospitals are still not realising the importance of getting Parkinson's medication on time , my mother who is 77 and also has parkinsons has recently been admitted to hospital having fallen and broke her hip .
I went to visit her a couple of days ago my mothers drug regime is 8am ,1pm .5pm and 10pm i was still there at 6pm and her 5pm drugs had still not been administered although the drug trolley was on it's way round , my mother does suffer with the shakes quite badly and did comment she was feeling really shaky that day i was shocked when they came round with the tea time meal and they served her hot soup in a mug with a spoon to feed herself , whilst she is capable of feeding herself , hot soup on a spoon and tremors do not really go together was not very impressed at all
I'm not surprised that you were'nt impressed Shelley65, it just goes to show the lack of understanding regarding PD even in the medical profession. I can't believe either that they actually gave her hot soup to eat herself it beggars belief. It reminds me that story on the news about that lady in a care home with dimensia they gave her a sandwich and left her to eat it on her own and she choked because she was used to pureed food. Total lack of caring or too under staffed in both cases..
I hate to say this but i think it was a total lack of understanding regarding pd as there were plenty of staff around on the ward , there was a lady in the opposite bed to my mother she had really bad alzheimers and her dinner was just left on a tray in front of her to get on with it , poor woman did not know what it was .It is shocking the very people you depend on to care for you when you are ill do not have a clue .
My mother also had pd. She was also hospitalised when she broke her hip, and then when she had bad falls. In short hospitals, in my opinion, are not set up to deal with feeding elderly people, regardless of their condition. If we, as a family, had not been available to visit throughout the day taking food and cartons of drink, I think she would have passed away at a much earlier point in her life. Hospitals need to encourage family, and volunteers to be around at meal times to help with feeding.
Well i really am not impressed at the care my mother is receiving in hospital to the point that i am actually going to make a official complaint tomorrow morning
My mother went in to hospital having broke her hip , i phoned the hospital and told them my mother had parkinsons and needed her medication i told them the dose and the times ..
I went to see my mother last week and was called to see the doctor who questioned me about my mothers parkinsons medication i again told the doctor the dose and timing of her medication she wrote it down , it turns out that they were giving my mother ony 1 Sinemet a day when she should have been having 3 a day plus a controlled release at bedtime , i spoke to my mother the next day who said they were giving her tablets at 6am 12pm 6pm and 10pm ,i also have parkinsons and there is no way on this earth i manage to go 6 hours between doses i am so fed up of telling the hospital about her meds
My mother has had a couple of falls whilst in hospital and the nurses have turned round to my mother and said she is falling on purpose , how hard is it for them to understand that this is all caused by messing around with her parkinsons meds i am hitting my head against a brick wall
Tonight was the final straw i was on the phone to my mother and she asked the nurse for something and then something was said about my mother getting out of bed , to which my mother replied that she had sat out in the chair today whilst my brother was visiting , then nurse then replied that she did not , my mother said i did then the nurse in a really snotty voice said do not argue with me my mother then said why are you picking on me ........what i heard was nothing short of bullying what happened to being treated with dignity and respect ?
Hi Shelly ....that is disgusting and yes i would make a formal complaint if i were you. It is upsetting enough that your dear Mum is in hospital....let alone being treated like a second class citizen. Bless her. I was talking on our local radio this week about Parkinsons and although i only was given 5 minutes ( and i could have done with an hour)!!! one of the things the interviewer mentioned was the lack of understanding in Hospitals that meds must be given on time. I told her that my Son is a Pharmacy technician and at the Hospital where he works they are very aware of this fact and patients with Parkinsons are given their meds when needed and not just when the drug trolley goes round. Now if they can do it why can't others? i told her if i was in hospital i would either self medicate or hide them in my socks!!
I am sorry you and your Mum are going through such a bad time and i really hope she is feeling better very soon.
The terrible thing is they are making my mum walk on a frame and her balance has gone because her meds are not being given on time and she actually fell in the hospital yesterday and hurt her arm and there is one particular nurse who seems to be taunting my mother so my complaint will be mostly aimed at her , she turned round to my mother yesterday when she fell and told her she was doing it on purpose and she was going to tell the doctor my mother was being awkward and she then turned round to my mother and told her she woukld be going into a home , how dare she taunt her like that , angry is not the word Dolly , lord help the ward ,manager when i get on the phone in a little while .
Shelly I do so sympathise and hope you get a good response to your complaint. Maybe the hospital has a formal complaints system. If so I would recommend using that as well as a phone call. Then both you and the hospital will have a record of your complaint and you can hold them to it.
Best wishes and your mother, hope she is out of there soon.
As a nurse and still working with PD i find this really worrying. I would be inclined to go to the NMC and complain to them about this nurse - no matter how things were, no one should be spoken to like that. Complain to the trust as well, but the NMC is supposed to protect the public.
Medication on time worries me. I know that staff shortages play a part - and know that is a reason why we cant always get them on time. BUT the nurse needs to adjust their drug round etc. Again this can be difficult.
Awareness is another problem with Drs and nurses and I guess we just have to keep banging away to get our point across. Hospitals are very target driven - a shame - so for me, unfortuantly, the only way things are improved is via a cash incentive or the DAILY MAIL! But then giving to one patient group takes away from another. For me this is the worse the health service has ever been - but there are a lot of hard working staff swimming up stream, and hopefully the penny will drop.
Shelley, its not nice because its your mum and one day we will all be in that situation - Another thing to enquire - have they done a fall assesment, has she seen a physio, if she is walking can she walk alone or needs a member of staff with her? Were their enough staff on duty?, if the hospital has been negligent and mother is falling because of poor medication then is legal advice required? Maybe a little over the top, but again, finances make hospitals think about their care.
How degrading for your mum and how worrying for you, you can do without the stress. FOREST has given you some decent advice there which I would act on if I were you, it's a disgrace. Hope you get a realistic response and an apology into the bargain. The world revolves around money and care for anyone or anything goes out of the window these days.
well i made my formal complaint today i was advised to go through PALS which i did first thing this morning they deemed the complaint serious and got in touch with the ward immediatley , the ward manager is on annual leave so the ward sister who is actually a man called me and explained all my concerns to him , it has transpired today that two particular nurses made my mother get out of bed yesterday even though she told them she could not as she was feeling unsteady due to her parkinsons they ignored her she told them she was going to fall so they stood back whilst she fell and hit her arm on the wall the initial thought was she had broken her arm but luckilly there are no breaks just bad bruising , the ward sister stated he was ashamed and embarrassed that this was going on and assured me this would be looked into , the nurses concerned did not fill in a accident form as they stated in the notes that they saw how unsteady my mother was so placed her on the floor yet they told my brother that my mother had fallen , if that was the case how did she injure her arm , i have insisted on a accident report and insisted on a copy , last night i heard one nurse really chastise my mother she did not know i was on the phone , she told my mother she was getting out of bed one way or another today and if she refused they would put her in a home , to say i was fuming is a under statement , the nurse who stood by and watched my mother fall came on the phone today i asked if my mother had fallen she blatently lied to me and said no she just knocked her arm
my mother lives in a care facility and we are really considering taking her out of hospital tomorrow or failing that my brother is going to set up some kind of voice recorder to try capture whats going on , i really hope that the ward sister has no knowledge of whats going on and he isnt just turning a blind eye
The ward sister/man advised me to put my complaint into writing so i get a a official reply
What is the NMC Forest and how do i contact them /? at the end of the day this is abuse of a vulnerable adult and they are certainly not getting away with it i went to the Daily Mail with my PIP story i will go again with this is they want me to .
They did a fall assessment AFTER my mother had fallen , no good locking the stable door once the horse as bolted , no she cannot mobilise alone that is how she fell and broke her hip she was trying to walk with a walking frame and fell , yes she sees the physio on the ward and was in receipt of physio whilst at home , my mother shakes really bad and her balance has gone she was being under medicated when she first went into hospital she was only given 1 Sinemet a day she should be on 4 ,and not getting her meds on time was a recipe for disaster, only now have the hospital agreed to take advice from the Parkinsons nurse attached to the hospital .
Recording is a difficult area and i think there are certain legal concerns - not sure though.
I would write in writing as has been suggested. Perhaps cc the CQC in as well? CQC line - "Speak up and tell us on 03000 61 61 61, [email protected]". And think about the NMC.
You should not have to be worrying about your mother in hospital, but at the same time things need to improve in our care system.
You talk of taking her home - does she only require physio now, is she medically stable? Can she be moved to a different ward? There will be a director of nursing too, maybe worth an email.
hope all goes well, I'm sure your mother will be ok, and your worry will be lifted (cant be helping your symptoms either). Perhaps when things settle, if you felt up to it, the hospital could learn from you?
I did mention to my brother the legal implications of recording but he was not worried as he said that the abuse of a vulnerable person far outweighed the legality of a voice recorder ,i have spoken to my mother today the nurses looking after her have now been changed , she has a stomach upset and is not eating , she has to have more physio to try to get her moving at least with a frame and then they will consider letting her home , so maybe not a good idea to move her home yet
Yes my mothers doctor did say to me how did i know so much about Parkinsons and my mothers drug regime , and i did say because i have the condition myself which stopped her dead in her tracks
Thank you i will certainly go check out the links , thanks for the advice , i am going over there this afternoon and i really hope things have improved .
