Originally Posted by
watchstudent
This is quite an ugly thread. Probably against my better judgement I will contribute.
Firstly, I am sorry FFF that your MIL is having such a rough time of it. As for a scan that was done on Tuesday, i am pretty sure that will have been reported by a Radiologist by now, try to catch the ward round and ask a doctor to look up the report, or ask the nurse to ask the doctor. Generally, when people ask for things like this, they are rude and aggressive, please don’t be. For the sake of getting what everyone wants, be polite, courteous and understanding of the time pressure everyone is under.
As for your and your MILs situation as a whole. My thoughts are this. Your mil clearly has some very very complex health needs. What needs to happen is a thorough overview of all tests that have been done so far and for a plan for actions. Try to speak to the nurse in charge on the ward, explain the situation and ask if you could have a meeting with the consultant responsible for her care on this admission. Not just a quick chat during ward round, a good 10min discussion at some point. This may or may not be possible. If it is not then probably a double appointment with the GP with pre warning to the GP about that you would like to discuss.
From a a medical perspective, we are quite bad at saying “I don’t know”. But sometimes we just don’t know what is going on, particularly with older complex patients, that is not a symptom of the health care system, but a symptom of a complex patient. This doesn’t mean no further help can be given but that expectations do need to be managed. Unfortunately, your experience in and out of hospital is not an uncommon one. With A&E it is their job to rule out the really serious stuff that is going to kill you now. That is it. From there they admit if they think you can’t cope at home or need more work done or discharge back to community if they think that is safe.
During a hospital admission staff are under enormous pressure to see far far too many patients, make them “safe” and discharge them. I hate it. It would be incredible if we could spend hours on each patient, make long term plans etc etc but it is just not possible most of the cases due to ridiculous pressures, under funding and most importantly understaffing. Along with doctors, physios and occupational therapists play a key role in getting people home safely, if you have concerns about safety at home then speaking to them may aslo lead to some fruit.
So to sum up, hospitals are really just too full and busy to provide the best possible care for complex patients with chronic conditions (as staff, we all hate this!). But hopefully if you manage to chat to the consultant for a bit to sort out a plan that might make things easier to stomach. Failing that a long appointment with GP, be prepared in the appointment with diaries, lists of the most important issues and worries etc. But also, I am afraid, manage your expectations of what can actually be done.
Finally, I will not be drawn into bickering. What I will say is the NHS is the envy of the world. That we can provide any kind of healthcare to all, free of charge, is a miracle and is taken as a right by too many people, not the privilege that it is. I have worked with people from places in Africa where people have sold land to pay for tests, the results of which meant they needed surgery, but couldn’t afford the surgery. The current system is indeed at breaking point, it is multifactorial, lack of funds, staff, expectations of the public, ageing population, lack of long term planning. Peoples issues with this should be taken up with politicians, not the frontline staff in GPs, hospitals and the like. No-one does this stuff to be shit at what they do.