My husband got a blood infection 6 months ago resulting in 5 operations in that time. The infection has caused ongoing problems for him plus the morphine type drugs given in hospital have made his hallucinations extreme. The infection has become lodged on one of his artificial knees resulting in the latest surgery removing his knee joint and giving him a cement temporary one (temporary with an unending date, until they are absolutely certain no infection remains in his blood/body). The approximate length of time for them to be in place is 10 months. An artificial knee eventually replaces the cement.
My forum topic relates to care in hospital when you have Parkinson’s, or maybe more accurately the lack of care of Parkinson’s when in hospital.
Firstly hospital policy dictates you cannot administer your own drugs so getting them on time is a constant battle.
More importantly there is no consultation. Between doctors treating my Husband they are only Concerned with treating their area of expertise. The frustration my husband and I feel at seeing his Parkinsons take a battering and not be able to get the medical staff to liaise with each other - surely they must realise that his rehabilitation is going to be severely hampered because his Parkinsons is not being well managed ! We’ve given doctors the Parkinsons nurse email and vice versa to no avail.
In the 6 months of being treated for a blood infection and the resulting surgeries my husband has gone from an active reasonably able person to one now confined to bed because he cannot even stand unaided.
We feel had the orthopaedic consultants taken notice of our constant worries about his Parkinsons and that his unaffected leg/knee was not holding him up, had they acted sooner rather than keep trying intermediate surgeries then my husband may still have been able to stand and move.
BUT mostly why oh why does our NHS not have a holistic approach to a patient instead of constantly dealing with only their speciality - it’s not rocket science to understand this doesn’t work when a person presents with complex issues ! Rant over 
Hi plus 1
I’m sorry to hear what you and your husband are going through and I most certainly do not think it is a rant .
This kind of treatment is not uncommon I’m afraid .
Wether in this country or abroad I wish I had an answer to this situation but I just don’t
except to say that you are doing the best you can and don’t stop trying also remember your own health .
May I direct you to two posts by carebear 3 and Pisuke
They both have something in common with you as their parents walked into hospital one in England and the other in Italy and for some time the patient had no Parkinson’s professional around and the meds were found in their lungs as they became unable to swallow.
Keep healthy and keep fighting
Hoping for a successful outcome
Tommy 
Hi @Plus1,
I hope all is well.
I’m sorry to hear abourt what happened to your husband during his hospital stay, I’m sure this was very distressing for you both. Usually in instances like this, we’d encourage your husband to get in touch with a Parkinson’s nurse straight away if he ever ends up in hospital again or if you know that he’s going in again, you can talk with the ward staff about his care, treatment and medication.
Additionally, you can ask if the hospital has a self-administration policy, sometimes we find that staff are not aware it exists so find it easier to tell people that they cannot self-administer. In some cases, it may be that the person is to unwell to self-administer but that should be explained to the person (in this case your husband) and family and as he recovers, he should be reassessed. If the hospital does not have a policy, we can support the hospital to implement one, Parkinson’s UK can advise on supporting the staff to increase their knowledge and education through our learning resources.
I would encourage you to ask about therapy support such as physiotherapy if you have not done so already. Lastly, if you wish to complain which I would strongly advise you do, we can support you on this.
If you’d like to discuss this further, we’re happy to do so with the service improvement team. We can’t undo what has already happened but could work with the trust to ensure that your husband has a different experience next time. Do let me know.
I hope you find this useful.
Best wishes,
Reah
Hello Reah, my husband is still in hospital in a rehabilitation ward no at a different hospital but same nhs trust. We have contacted his a Parkinsons Nurse and his doctors and tried to get them to talk to each other to no avail. We have sought to be able to self medicate and not been allowed to in either hospital. One reason given is that anyone could help themselves to his medication (other patients)
I feel I, his wife and carer gave more knowledge of Parkinson’s generally and certainly his drug regime than most of the nurses who are supposed to be looking after him. When he rings his bell to insist they give him his sinimet it is met with comments like it’s only 6 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins late etc and they’re really busy. Physio therapy is sparse not least because he requires the aid of two people to stand him up. Any movement forward has come each hospital stay (there have been 5 since May this year) through ‘liaising’ with PALS - the whole experience has been rubbish
https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/professionals/resources/medicines-optimisation-consensus-statement
I am saddened to read about your hospital experiences. I helped write this statement that I had hoped would be accessed by staff in hospitals…but I guess those affected need to help make sure that the professionals they come across in a hospital have read this! It is on the excellence network section of the PUK website…
Have a read
Hi plus 1
It’s heartbreaking to read your post especially now your husband is in another hospital.
ALL I can say is please take Reah’s advice as if they won’t pay attention to a pd nurse .
Then let pduk send in their reinforcements
Tommy
Hi @Plus1,
My apologies, I hadn’t realised that your husband was still in hospital. Please send me your contact details via private message so one of my colleagues can get in touch with you.
Best wishes,
Reah