Tuesday 30 March 2010

Dying for a drink

For the second time in as many weeks, I’ve heard a story involving a very sick patient having to use a mobile phone to call for help from their hospital bed.

Derek Sauter, 60, had been taken into hospital with a chest infection and then died for lack of care. Mr Sauter’s condition wasn’t life threatening when he was admitted to St Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup, in Kent. He was given intravenous antibiotics and oxygen. He telephoned his wife later in the evening in distress claiming that nurses were refusing to give him any water because he’d accidentally knocked over his first glass.

A note scrawled by Mr Sauter and discovered by his family after his death said: 'Asked for a jug of water at 6pm and again at 8.30, told to wait for handover. Said I knocked cup of water on floor.'

Some time between 9.30pm and 11.30pm Mr Sauter was moved to a side room where there was no monitoring equipment and, although he was supposed to be checked every four hours, no observations on his condition were made. At 11.35pm Mr Sauter, who had still not had any fluids, made his desperate call to the switchboard. The following morning, at 6.51am, a distressed Mr Sauter telephoned his wife to ask her to come back to the hospital. But he died of pneumonia brought on by the chest infection less than half an hour later - before his wife arrived.

Mrs Sauter had not been able to see her husband before because the events had happened outside of visiting hours. An investigation by the hospital revealed Mr Sauter's oxygen levels, which should have been routinely monitored, were not checked for 11 hours and had dropped 35 per cent below the recommended level.

The self-appointed disciplinarian masquerading as a nurse in this case was one Caroline Lowe. Ms Lowe was found to be responsible for Mr Sauter’s care and the investigation concluded that Mr Sauter would have survived if Ms Lowe had been doing her job properly. She was sacked from St Mary’s but not struck off as a nurse. So, she’s now free to punish some other poor sod in the care of the NHS.

You’d think this sort of cruelty couldn’t happen in today’s NHS, wouldn’t you? Wrong. I experienced the punishment routine from a very gobby sister when I was in my local hospital. I was taking a fair amount of morphine and unbeknown to me, my femur had developed an abscess. I asked for a bottle in order to avoid walking to the toilet and was told I couldn’t have one and that I was ‘lazy’ and ‘difficult’ for not walking to the lavatory. I too called my family to complain about the harsh treatment and total lack of care. A few hours later I collapsed and was taken to the operating theatre close to death.

Doctors and nurses are universally portrayed as caring angels ministering to the sick and the vulnerable, but that isn’t always the case. I’m sure the vast majority do work hard and do care about their patients, but too many poorly trained and frankly vicious individuals manage to besmirch the profession by remaining in the employ of the NHS. I’m sure that good nurses are sick of these lazy and incompetent colleagues. Perhaps it’s time that a ‘Shop a Bad Nurse” hotline was opened before any more patients have to use their mobile phone to summon help. However, I won’t hold my breath. I think a ban on mobile phones in hospitals is more likely.

14 comments:

  1. It doesn't only happen there mate, in my recent 2 month "holiday" in hospital I too experienced some very nasty but fortunately not life threatening behavior from some of the nursing staff. I observed that about 80% of them are great 15% have real problems in their chosen profession and 5% should be sacked immediately and recycled in something that doesn't permit them to come in contact with anyone perhaps lighthouse keepers on some island where it is either very cold or very hot depending on someone to bring them the supplies they need for survival and sometimes enduring non arrival of them.

    My advice to anyone going into hospital is to take a notebook and pen and take notes, time, date and who and make sure that it is known that notes are being taken.

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  2. ANother life lost because nurses are no longer doing their job, being a patient's advocate as well as carer!

    My sympathies go to the family. I can't help thinking that there but for the grace of God go any one of us. After my son and I's experiences in A&E when he was sufferring a life threatening problems recently (Blood pressure of 64/40!!) I really am very aware of hos dangerous hospitals can be to your health.

    I hope your leg is improving XTM? Are you being good with the physio etc?

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  3. In the Australian news today, there was a similar story about a guy having to ring 000 to get the attention of a nurse. The call buttons in Lismore hospital have not been working for some time, and the hospital hasn't been able to afford new ones, so patients were given hand bells. Go figure!

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  4. Good lord... what is happening to our health system?....I refuse to go into hospital for any reason... My instructions are that I be left to die peacefully and without intervention from doctors and nurse who would only make me suffer more than normal.
    Its sad that treatment like this is happening every day, and what is more worrying is that they are left to get away with it.
    when a nurse refuses a patient water they are breaking the law... they should be tried for that... not given a slap on the hand by the GMC (General Murdering council)...who are a law to themselves... when the actions of nurses and doctors lead to death... and it is found that this is happening... arrest those in charge... and throw them into the darkest cell... without water... without care.... see how they like it.

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  5. Unbelievable , but the problem of these nurses attitudes should be investigated where they get trained, the people training them should be monitored and corrected if the teachers are failing to teach the nurses properly.

    If diciplin and organisation fails the expected standard in any industry, then the idustry fails.
    Ness..

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  6. How appalling, and how desperate for the family. What is interesting is that the individual nurse has been seen to be punished, but is allowed to continue on in her profession, with no obvious restrictions on her practice and the system that supported her has got off scot free. I wonder if she sleeps at night? Or if it is just the family who endure the pain?

    Hope you are on the mend XTM

    Pepsi mother



    Pepsi mother

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  7. Hospital Food is in the news again today XTM,
    it was on the BBC News Channel this morning and in the Daily Mail
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1262427/Despite-17-Government-schemes-hospital-food-improvements-50m-failure.html

    Lansdown

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  8. A full report can be downloaded here

    http://www.sustainweb.org/news/dec_09_government_hospital_food_failure/

    Lansdown

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  9. That's appalling.

    and I thought it was bad when, after breaking his arm in two places, my husband was prescribed "a large glass of shiraz" upon asking for some painkillers.

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  10. A large glass of Shiraz! To be honest, that sounds like my kind of hospital. Only kidding.

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  11. Lismore Base Hospital Story links

    http://www.echonews.com.au/story/2010/04/01/mp-calls-for-hospital-inquiry/

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/30/2860071.htm?section=justin

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  12. Re the Lismore story, http://www.news.com.au/national/war-veteran-calls-triple-0-from-own-hospital-bed/story-e6frfkvr-1225849708592, they took his phone and removed the SIM card.

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  13. I am Derek Sauter's daughter (Ruth) and came across your blog by accident really, but glad I did. The media story is only the tip of the iceberg. Its very hard to express how awful this whole situation has been. The contempt I feel for Nurse Lowe in her treatment of my father is without measure - how would she feel if she or her loved ones were on the receving end of such callous and unsympathetic nursing!

    Hope you're on the road to full recovery now!

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  14. Hi Ruth

    My condolences. If I had a pound for every time I was told to wait until 'handover' I'd be a rich man and probably in better health. It is truly a scandal and only wholesale reform and a return to the training of nurses pre-1970s will get the same dedication and discipline we saw from the old-school matrons. I know there are many good nurses but the bad ones really do mess it up for the majority and the bad attitude can spread without the watchful eye of a strong managerial figure who is eve slightly feared.

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