Hello all, I’m interested to know how you experience going into hospital if you have lack of mobility. Quick bit of background - my husband had his stroke in Sept 25, nearly 10 months ago, this was a major stroke and he is currently unable to walk and needs to be hoisted. He also had a craniectomy (awaiting skull reconstruction, hopefully very soon) so has to wear a helmet for transfers. Just before his stroke, he suffered with urine infection, so had a kidney stent fitted and needed surgery for removal of a large stone. Due to his stroke he has had to wait before being fit enough for the surgery.
Now, he’s just had the surgery successfully at the end of last week and is recovering. What I’m amazed at is how the hospital staff seem unable to cope with hoisting him, talking to him and just treat him as a human being! Just today we have had two incidents with the hoist, they nearly made him fall out of his sorrento chair (that’s a large padded chair on wheels with OT service provide, as unable to sit in a standard chair), got him wedged and needed me to see how we could get him back to bed and then later on I had to tell them they were trying to connect him to the mobile hoist with it the wrong way round! It would be laughable if it wasn’t so damn serious and they could do him a lot of damage. I had complained on the ward - unfortunately the staff member in charge, was one involved!
I’ve had many incidents over the last 10 months and find the lack of facilities and training to deal with disabled shocking, any one else??
I think it may be a roll of the die with care, sometimes we expect a lot but if we were in their shoes would we do everything the patients, friends and family may be expecting? Would we possibly let them down? These thoughts occur to me, having been a teacher in one of my past lives.
I am not excusing malpractice or negligence when it occurs, nor am I making duty of care not a priority, when these things happen or not happen it is important to stand one’s ground to allow services to hold to account. However, I have come to understand that people in any field are no more privileged in their capacity and ability than anyone else.
I was misdiagnosed by a GP, not my GP but a practitioner who was taking his place while he was on annual leave. If I hadn’t of had that GP, my strokes might have been addressed earlier but, sadly, they weren’t.
If you feel there is mistreatment, it might be worthwhile flagging it so that It can be addressed. I for one imagine that working in such an environment would be highly stressful and perhaps the medical staff themselves are exhausted and not able to perform at peak. Just another way of balancing it out a bit from an outsider.
I too have several instances I might have thought I ought to flag while I was in hospital. I think about them every now and then, but I haven’t completely deliberated on them enough yet to know how I should think about it all.
I too had to be hoisted while in hospital, and was repeatedly told I couldn’t be moved as they were short-staffed. Thus I went without treatment that may well have helped my recovery. I too used to have a job in an industry that worked under great pressure and under life-or-death conditions, so I know with correct rostering and training, staff can perform their duties adequately.
I work for a large care home facility for various ages with multiple disabilities. If they have to go into hospital the staff on the wards have no idea how to look after them. They are not trained in the field. We have to have someone with them at the side of there bed 24 hours a day.
But on a stroke ward the staff should always be aware of the patients needs they are working with them wall the time.
Has for hoisting I went to bring a resident of ours home and it took the staff on that ward 4 hours to find a mobile hoist. Great they came with one. They then had to find someone who new how it operated has they would not allow myself and the carer to use it. Even though it was the same type as the ones we use.
But we forget it’s not just our family member they are looking after and most of the time they are short staffed. So from my own hospital stay I can’t thank them enough. But I hear from the site many different things
Oh dear; how sad ! My severe stroke was over 5 years ago and I was told I had to get my head around the fact that I’d never walk again .I was a paratrooper and fit and strong so it was an awful shock. But I worked hard on private physio at great expense(NHS physio ran out after 12 weeks)AND NOW I CAN WALK A LITTLE! With sticks but a walk nevertheless.
I too had problems with staff who did not follow correct Moving and Handling procedures; I think there is still a complaints service at Care Quality Commission (CQC) and I found they at least listened! In my view, most NHS problems stem from Administrative issues, not medical ones, but one thing is certain: do not let shortcomings go without challenge, or things will never improve.
HI @HeatherT, from the responses given I would agree it’s really sadly luck of the draw type event around care today in the NHS- not their fault too. I don’t think a political rant about successive governmental failings helps either. Like @Rups was misdaignosed sent home then 478 hours later re-admitted . My experience was hostile in HASU - a place where you need most care then transferred to a dorm ward of 35 males all with brain injuries with 3 nursing staff on shift to care?
I was fully mobile and the senior nurse told me people like me and the patient next to me are a godsend as we can look after ourselves. That being said I know that they done the best they could, but my next experience was in a smaller out of area hospital with only 8-10 patients with 5 staff and a host of additional support- it is really ghard and next to impossible to figure.