Wednesday 27 December 2006

NURSING HOME; WHAT NURSING, WHAT HOME?

Was trying to think of a good work related thing from last night, and there was a couple but I kept thinking about the call to a nursing home. Now there is no accuracy in either part of this title. There was no discernible nursing and it certainly was not home to anyone there.

I find it really sad when I enter one of these places and see two or three elderly people crammed into what would be called a double bedroom. These people worked, saved and had their dignity only to have it rot away when they are least able to do anything about it.

Tonight's job was to an 85 year old man who was apparently "powerfully" cyanosed. Not knowing this particular medical term we got there pretty quick and rang the bell. A couple of minutes later a care assistant type person answered the door and pointed us down the corridor. Getting to the end of this corridor we discovered that we were alone so headed back to find someone who could show us a powerfully cyanosed man.

Up the lift, along the corridor and into the room. There was this frail, skeletal man with blue lips struggling for breath lying on the bed, in his curtained off quarter of the room.The "nurse" started to tell me some history but, and hopefully she thought I was impolite, I ignored her; sat the man up, which is basic stuff for people who are short of breath, and got on the O2.

Keeping an eye on the patient and knowing my mate was busy with sats readings, BP's etc I got the story. Mr Powerful had been a resident for some months, he had breathing problems but they were not sure what and were unclear about any other medical conditions. He had been discharged from hospital earlier today, as he had been in with a chest infection, with steroids and antibiotics.

Now, I didn't even know his name at this point but would bet all of my mates monthly salary that the man had emphysema and dementia. You could hear the gurgling in his lungs and sitting him up should be the first thing anyone does, even a nurse in home. I would of also thought that a little bit of knowledge of what the medical history of a resident is would go a long way to helping formulate any care plan.

What really disappointed me though was the fact that they had not given this poor man any of the domiciliary oxygen that had so thoughtfully been provided for his benefit. A huge black and white bottle of the good stuff was sitting next to a powerfully cyanosed, emphysemic with a chest infection and the nursing staff in a nursing home did nothing but provide us with a print out of his next of kin and GP's address.

We took him back to hospital as much to keep him out of harms way as anything else. Hopefully they will keep him in until he's well enough to survive the neglect that his family probably pay £400 a week for and know nothing about.

It sickens me and makes me angry. This is negligent: but it happens at every home I go to.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Haven't had the pleasure of visiting a nursing home just yet..

Anonymous said...

Dear Bad Nursing Home,

The standard of your care is shocking. The smell in every room is vomit worthy. The food is poorly presented and also vomit worthy. The residents are either catatonic or delusional. The nurses and staff are particularly unattractive in their looks and features. Their uniforms are rather unappealing. The incessant mind numbing background music is rather stroke inducing. If my family ever bring me back to your institution, I will set it on fire.

Your budding arsonist,
Prof Scrub
http://www.scrubbingup.com/blogs/profscrub/blog.asp

Anonymous said...

Great blog! I have to agree about ''care'' homes, in my area my list of homes in which I would never ever place anyone I know in just gets longer. There are some fantastic ones around it's just a shame for the residents of the rest of them.

Magwitch said...

Hey anonymous, where are these 'fantastic' ones then? I've never been to one.

Nursing homes. What a misnomer. There's no nursing. In fact it's a rarity to find anyone with more than a first aid certificate on duty. The staff never know what 'conditions' the patients suffer from; in fact most of the time they barely know the patient's name. Thankfully many homes have the inmate's name on the door.

Personally I hope I never, ever have to stay in one of these hell holes. It'd be cheaper to live in a 4 star hotel with better surroundings and superior food.

Rant over!

Anonymous said...

Unfortunatly anonymous is away on business right now so i have decided to respond.
There are 3 excellent nursing homes i have come across, the best of which is Granby Care home, Toxteth, Liverpool. Yup! In Toxteth. Bright, best care i have ever seen, lovely food, commited staff, not even the slightest whiff of piss.
It also doesnt have "Manor" on the end of the title, (sure sign its an impressive building but affirmation that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover)
Bloody shame this is this exception rather than the rule.

PS. Hello Iain, good luck with the blog in 2007

Mo said...

Thanks for this. I can hardly say I enjoyed reading it but these shitholes are never going to change unless folks like you keep making others aware.

Mo said...
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