Complaint about hospital

bri007

Hi,

I wonder could anyone help me or give me some advice.

My father is very sick up in hospital at the moment, the treatment we have received so far has been so bad.

It all started from 3 trips to a and e over a week ago, each time they discharged my dad home and said there was nothing wrong with him and failed to admit him.

He couldn’t walk at all, severe pain. Failed to check his urine on each occasion only did his bloods.

Then after the 3 time in a and e and eventuall lifting my dad and taking nearly two hours to get him in and out of care which I just about could do. That same day my dad came in the door and then dropped to the ground and we had to get an ambulance.

He was taking into hospital and they did urine sample on him and it transpired that he had septicemia.

He was very ill and had been up there in hospital since. So over last weekend, he wasn’t well at all but was engaging in conversation with us. They gave him far too much medication opioids and it nearly killed him, it took 24 hours of praying and worrying that he may not come around he was unconscious. The staff and doctor said it was the opioids and stopped them, he eventually came around.

He is very delirious, and they are not updating us on any plan or progress on what they are doing with him. All they keep doing is asking what was he like at home previously, which I informed them he was very independent, he now needs two people to assist him in the hospital.

I got a phone call today from a nurse asking about getting a stair lift, totally out of the blue, I asked are you planning on discharging him, she appeared shocked I asked this. We feel like we are not being told what’s going on, and now my dad has pressure sores from being left in the bed.

I asked the nurse to go through his medical chart and none of the calls to me today or correspondence we had with them have been documented.

I am extremely worried as each day we go in he’s getting worse and they appear to have no answers, now they are on about sending him to a rehab facility which I find facinating as he is medically unwell.

I don’t know what to do, or who to talk to about this.

Could anyone share some light or from previous experiences of what I might be able to do?

Thanks in advance

Graces7

Feeling for you OP. A terrible situation

Initially demand to see the most senior personnel, drs, consultants, nursing and admin staff. Make it clear you intend making a formal complaint..

There are complaints procedures.... see

https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/qavd/complaints/howto/

You have set out the issues clearly in your post. Do that on the form on the site?

Start the procedure; also if you can get to Citizens info they will support and advise you

also these people

http://irishpatients.ie/

and yes I have used the procedure.

Blessings and prayers

iamwhoiam

You could try if there is a patient advocacy staff member available to speak to . Otherwise ask to speak to the CNM 3 ( Clinical Nurse Manager ) of the unit your dad is on

munstergirl

Have you spoken to the doctor + head nurse in charge of your dad? Is he still on opiods, for how long.?

Have you looked at chart, see if he's on any new meds? Maybe he's having bad reaction.

Is he on air matress to get rid of pressure sore? Ask nurse in charge why wasn't he moved in bed to prevent pressure sores?

Who ever rang you is prob trying to free up hospital beds.

Is your dad eating? Try visit around lunch dinner times to make sure he's being fed.

Try get some time off work till your dad hopefully gets better.

My own mum was in A+E like a yo yo, felt like nobody cared, she couldn't walk, nothing wrong with her heart or lungs, go home, finally someone spotted she had fractured her hip, lucky she had health insurance and got new one.

You need to take charge of your dads health, speak to doctor every day + stress your dad was active + healthy before all his a+e trips, the hospitals are under pressure to free up beds, esp if patient is 75 or over.

Good luck to you + your dad.

bri007

Just an update, my dad is on a pressure mattress now thank god.

He is extremely delirious, to the point that he thinks everyone is posoning him, and I am selling the family home behind his back!

Yet the staff on the ward reports that he is fine with them, he is so confused and thinks people on the ward are going to attack him.

He appears to be gone back to 20 years ago, where he talks about people thag have RIP years ago coming to visit him and a place he use to work in and refers to as his current job.

I am demanding an MRI of Brain or CT scan but they keep saying it’s probably just the delirium, yet depending who you speak to on the ward he has no delirium!

I am so worried, I had to leave as he was so frightened when I went up today, the CNM was horrible and not very understanding to me. I have send emails to my local TDs but no response as of yet.

He won’t eat the food now in fear of being poisoned also water I buy him he thinks there’s something in it.

Whole thing is crazy to be honest and we don’t know what to do, I’m contacting social work dept on Monday and demanding a family meeting.

timsnewbridge

bri007 wrote: »

Hi,

I wonder could anyone help me or give me some advice.

My father is very sick up in hospital at the moment, the treatment we have received so far has been so bad.

It all started from 3 trips to a and e over a week ago, each time they discharged my dad home and said there was nothing wrong with him and failed to admit him.

He couldn’t walk at all, severe pain. Failed to check his urine on each occasion only did his bloods.

Then after the 3 time in a and e and eventuall lifting my dad and taking nearly two hours to get him in and out of care which I just about could do. That same day my dad came in the door and then dropped to the ground and we had to get an ambulance.

He was taking into hospital and they did urine sample on him and it transpired that he had septicemia.

He was very ill and had been up there in hospital since. So over last weekend, he wasn’t well at all but was engaging in conversation with us. They gave him far too much medication opioids and it nearly killed him, it took 24 hours of praying and worrying that he may not come around he was unconscious. The staff and doctor said it was the opioids and stopped them, he eventually came around.

He is very delirious, and they are not updating us on any plan or progress on what they are doing with him. All they keep doing is asking what was he like at home previously, which I informed them he was very independent, he now needs two people to assist him in the hospital.

I got a phone call today from a nurse asking about getting a stair lift, totally out of the blue, I asked are you planning on discharging him, she appeared shocked I asked this. We feel like we are not being told what’s going on, and now my dad has pressure sores from being left in the bed.

I asked the nurse to go through his medical chart and none of the calls to me today or correspondence we had with them have been documented.

I am extremely worried as each day we go in he’s getting worse and they appear to have no answers, now they are on about sending him to a rehab facility which I find facinating as he is medically unwell.

I don’t know what to do, or who to talk to about this.

Could anyone share some light or from previous experiences of what I might be able to do?

Thanks in advance

This is absolutely disgusting OP, but sadly unsurprising. I was wondering could you disclose the hospital? I had a terrible experience at Tallaght recently myself. I haven't read the full thread yet. I will now. I hope you get/got it all resolved.


EDIT:

I read your most recent update OP. I know it's worth nothing, but I'm really sorry to hear. I really hope you get this to work out. I'd start hinting at the idea that you're going to sue them. Drop the words 'neglect' etc. I did this one time I was in A&E. It was my second time in there for the same reason, first time I was sent home with opioids. Second time I very clearly said I felt there was severe medical neglect happening across the board. A senior doc came out, started writing up a referral to see a neurologist for my symptoms. Obviously your dad can't advocate himself like I did, so you gotta keep doing it for him. Keep up updated if you want.

tcif

bri007 wrote: »

He is extremely delirious, to the point that he thinks everyone is posoning him, and I am selling the family home behind his back!

Yet the staff on the ward reports that he is fine with them, he is so confused and thinks people on the ward are going to attack him.

He appears to be gone back to 20 years ago, where he talks about people thag have RIP years ago coming to visit him and a place he use to work in and refers to as his current job.

I am demanding an MRI of Brain or CT scan but they keep saying it’s probably just the delirium, yet depending who you speak to on the ward he has no delirium!

I am so worried, I had to leave as he was so frightened when I went up today, the CNM was horrible and not very understanding to me. I have send emails to my local TDs but no response as of yet.

He won’t eat the food now in fear of being poisoned also water I buy him he thinks there’s something in it.

This might not be in any way the same thing, OP, but I saw that behavior change in my father once, saw an otherwise very calm, rational man become paranoid and extremely agitated for several days. In his case it turned out to be hypoxia due to an adverse reaction to medication he'd been given in the hospital but the change it wrought in him was dreadful to see.

Might be worth just making sure they're checking for something like that.

nikkibikki

Look up the complaints officer in the hospital and ask if they have a patient advocate. My local hospital doesn't so I sent in my complaint myself through Your Service Your Say. Look that up on the HSE website.

I contacted the Irish Patients Association but am still waiting for a reply......

I met yesterday with the head consultant and head nurse in the department my complaint was about and it is satisfactorily resolved now.

Write down your complaints in bullet points. Type it if you can.

CramCycle

St. Vincents discharged my father once before I arrived. I found him thinking he was at a Train station, outside the front door. Refused to readmit him as he was "signed off". I really regret not making a complaint. He was so confused he thought I was a porter and kept telling me he was meeting me at the train, if I could bring him to the right platform.

When I calmed him down they said the only way back in was through the A&E, a 10hour wait for a confused elderly man. He eventually came back to him self 48hours later. They simply did not care, it was a traumatic experience.