Death is the last taboo in our society and yet it is something we must all face. We strive to live a good life and yet some people are being denied a good death. Despite government promises to allow everyone the right to choose to die at home, half of primary care trusts are still not providing the 24-hour nursing care required to make that a possibility.
Channel 4’s Dispatches uncovered the case of 80-year-old Ken Rasheed, who spent his last days in East Surrey Hospital with Parkinson’s and pneumonia. Nursing staff seemed to have no idea he was close to death, and are filmed telling him off for not swallowing his pills – even though he was so ill he could only swallow them with yoghurt rather than water.
One nurse is filmed telling him impatiently: ‘This is a busy ward; [other] people need some care as well’, as her colleagues callously discuss the impact of spending cuts while leaning over Mr Rasheed to change him. To make things worse, he contracted E.coli and septicaemia while on the ward. He eventually died in hospital – despite wanting to die at home in front of a Manchester United game or a cricket match.
Dispatches, Secret NHS Diaries is on at 8pm tonight on Channel 4.
That's unacceptable, and even if you are going to die in hospital there's no reason why you can go without suffering.
ReplyDeleteI have an elderly gentleman under my care who's dying from a gastrointestinal obstruction. We can't send him home as he's alone in this world. We've stopped all his medicines, and are giving him morphine and midazolam to ease his pain. The nurses are putting him in a single room so he has some privacy and dignity, and keeping an eye out for if he needs more palliative medications to keep him comfortable.
I wish everyone who had to die in hospital was looked after by the nurses on my ward, who I must give a shout out to for being awesome. I'm glad I don't work for the NHS.
The law of unintended consequence at work with nursing becoming an academic subject rather than a vocational one.
ReplyDeleteYou can't learn to care for or nurse someone from a book. It has to be learned by doing and by following examples. I was priveleged to learn nursing in a military hospital. Capt Shepherd was possibly the strictest ward sister I ever worked under, but she cared deeply about her patients and led by example.
The NHS is no place to go when you are sick or dying - the sick aren't treated as patients, they are treated as an inconvenience and a statistic. If I ever get seriously ill, I'm booking the first plane out to Switzerland so I can die with dignity.
If an animal was dying like this, and the owner was negligent in giving succour I would suggest that the authorities would be harder on the owner than they would be on the "people" caring for this unfortunate individual who has probably contributed significantly to the country in his life.
ReplyDeleteIn Australia we had the case of a homeowner, who whilst fixing a drain to his house, accidently cut the root to an old tree that subsequently according to the council had to be cut down.
Not only did they cut down the tree, but cut down the owner to the tune of I think $19,000, with the magistrate hearing the case saying the following.
"The presiding judge on the case, Justice Milledge, described the actions of the person as disgraceful, and I entirely agree,'' he said in a statement. ''Trees not only beautify otherwise stark urban streets, but they offset carbon emissions, provide shade and attract native wildlife.''
The news article is on the following link.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/an-unkind-cut-that-led-to-a-record-fine-20110201-1acgo.html
I have not seen responses like that to negligence in our hospitals!
This is the articel:
ReplyDeleteIT WAS a DIY repair-job gone wrong that has now cost a Sydney man $19,000.
Peter Petrou, 43, was digging outside the house he shares with his parents and children in Randwick on July 31 last year, searching for a leaking pipe that was causing water to gush over his front steps and footpath, when he cut into what he described as a ''fat root'' belonging to an old native brush box tree.
Although the cut did not kill the tree, it had to be removed, the council said, for safety reasons. Mr Petrou was ordered to pay $19,000 by Waverley Local Court for breaching a tree preservation order, thought to be the largest penalty of its kind ever issued in the local government area.
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''It's not like I was drilling holes in the night to get a view,'' said Mr Petrou, who used to climb the tree when he was a child.
''It was just a duty-of-care issue. There's kids that walk along that path, and my elderly parents use the front steps … I didn't think one root could kill a tree.''
The mayor of Randwick, Murray Matson, a Green, applauded the hardline stance taken by the court, which he said would make others think twice in the future about damaging public trees.
"The presiding judge on the case, Justice Milledge, described the actions of the person as disgraceful, and I entirely agree,'' he said in a statement. ''Trees not only beautify otherwise stark urban streets, but they offset carbon emissions, provide shade and attract native wildlife.''
The fine is believed to be the largest of its kind ever issued in the Randwick local government area, a council spokesman said.
Mr Petrou's solicitor, Tim Mitchell, said the punishment was a ''denial of natural justice''.
''There was no malicious intent whatsoever,'' he said.
A Randwick Labor councillor, Tony Bowen, said it would be preferable if the council could resolve these issues amicably and focus on educating residents instead.
''It's a lot of money,'' he said. ''It might be a better approach to have them replace the tree and receive some sort of modest fine.''
Apologies for posting 2 links - I had initially thought Henry Crun's comments were addressed in the first post. Unfortunately that's in the second, but both are relevant to this post, here, in terms of the dismal treatment of patients in NHS hospitals.
ReplyDeleteWorrying to see it's not just my local hospital that's appalling http://ronsrants.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/hell-is-arrowe-park-hospital/
Henry Crun, interestingly, reaches almost exactly the conclusions I did in this post
http://ronsrants.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/they%E2%80%99re-dangerous-at-arrowe-park-hospital%E2%80%A6/
this is a heartbreaking documentary to watch - I hope that those in charge of the NHS watch this, as they have the power to change how things are managed, I hope those who look after these patients watch as they have the power to make sure that compassion and empathy are the priority of the care they give, and I hope that the general public are watching in abundance as they have the power to force this to be a priority - bearing in mind that one day we may be in the position that these poor people and their families are in.
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to the families in the documentary and to many others in a similar situation. I also would like to give thanks to Dispatches and to all involved for allowing themselves and their vulnerable loved ones to be recorded in the hope that they may be able to highlight the problems with the care of the elderly, the sick, the dying. It was a courageous and selfless act of compassion. It is obvious from this documentary that major changes are needed in our health service to ensure that the most vulnerable people in our society receive the care they require. My family and I were also forced to complain as a result of lack of care in the treatment of my Father. It is very sad and quite common that nursing staff talk over the heads of the people in the care, making them feel insignificant and worthless at a time when they need kindness, compassion, care.
ReplyDeleteI can really identify with the situation of nurses talking over me as if I were invisible.
ReplyDeleteThis was really harrowing to watch - it was absolutely disgraceful how these people were treated.
ReplyDeleteMY 93 YEAR OLD FATHER WAS IN HOSPITAL FOR 5 WEEKS, YOU COULD SEE HIM GOING DONE EVERY TIME YOU SAW HIM (WHICH WAS EVERY DAY) WHEN YOU COULD FIND HIM,BECAUSE HE WAS MOVED TO A DIFFERENT WARD NEARLY EVERY DAY.THEY LOST HIS PYJAMAS,I WENT ONE DAY AND THE PJ'S THEY HAD PUT HIM IN WERE SO SMALL THE LEGS ONLY CAME TO HIS KNEES, LOOKED LIKE THEY HAD BEEN SPRAYED ON WHEN I COMPLAINED THEY DID'NT WANT TO KNOW.WHEN HE GOT REALLY CONFUSSED AGITATED TRIED TO HIT ME (DUE TO THE TABLETS) I ASKED FOR SOME HELP,THEY WOULD NOT COME AND TOLD ME GO HOME AND LEAVE HE WOULD BE OK,THEN CARRIED ON TALKING.I WAS TOLD OVER THE PHONE AT THE HOSPITAL (IN THE NURSES STATION) THAT THEY WERE GOING TO SEND MY DAD BACK TO THE NURSING HOME BECAUSE HE WOULD BE DEAD SOON AND THE NEEDED THE BED.(IWAS TOLD OVER THE PHONE BECAUSE THE PERSON WAS TO BUSY TO COME AND SEE ME.THAT DAY MY DAD WAS NAKED WHEN I WENT TO SEE HIM (WHICH OFTEN HAPPENED) HE DIED 4 DAYS LATER.ITS AWFUL HOW OUR ELDERLY PEOPLE ARE TREATED.
ReplyDeletei can totally relate to the story lines that dispatches are doing on hospitals at presant, over the last 3 yrs i have had 12 operations and lol also played the guess the food game with friends the last time i was in hospital i was so lucky to have a restaurant next door who would deliver to the ward but isnt the reason why im writing last summer i came home from hospital having proceedures done on my leg again only this time i was in bits and emailed every local newspaper i could. i had spent 4 days holding a ladys hand who couldnt move couldnt feed herself or take fluids i heard her screaming in pain when ivs where fitted cause there was nothing of her i used to drag myself out of bed go sit by her side and feed her and give her drinks ,i dont know what happened to her and i contacted everyone i could think of the day i left and some of the answers i got she wasnt my relative so they couldnt take my complaint, but also while i was there many times the nurses would go totally missing and no one would be covering a ward and i also and remeber i had just had majour surgery on my leg got a office chair from the nurses station to help get someone to a bathroom that was crying and distraught cause they didnt want to wet the bed no one really took notice of my complaints and far the non replies i really dont see how it can be called care cause it is far from it i have to go bck into hospital on the 14th march not looking forward to it cause it isnt just the stress of a another operation u also have to face u really do fend for urself
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, the treatment of Ken really made me angry and feel embarrassed to watch it. I am nurse myself and it upsets me deeply when i see treatment like this and hear stories from previous patients. However i am incredibly proud to be part of the NHS and i believe that the majority of nurses are up to scratch and i would trust my staff members to look after my own family. I except that the NHS still has problems, as does any company or organisation but we are doing the best with what we have got. The majority of days we can work flat out for 13 hours with only a 10 minute break because we do not have the staff or resources. I do not begrudge this as it was my choice of career and i love being able to care for patients in the hardest points of their lives. Some nurse's do need to be re-assessed and given more support in order for better patient treatment but dispatches has only pointed out the problems and not the good points. The majority of patients are happy with their care and go home to carry on with their lives. Instead of just moaning about the staff please put yourselves in our shoes before you critise as i know i couldn't physically give anymore than i do already. I understand people's frustrations and bad experiences but in the bigger picture the NHS needs more help and support in order to overcome all of these issues not constant negativity.
ReplyDeleteDEAR ANONYMOUS NURSE,
ReplyDeleteI WAS with you until you said "moaning about the staff....." I believe there is an ocean of unheard voices regarding lousy medical 'care,' to outright abuse. There are a myriad of reasons why all kind of people hold back from airing their concerns and complaints.
Refering to peoples experiences of abuse as "just moaning..." is disgraceful!
No one can take away or diminish your good efforts. And confidence in your ability would tell you that.
People should be encouraged to come forward and get their voice heard any way they can regarding any lousy or abusive treatment. Saying nothing to avoid upsetting the sensibilities of others is just not on!
To say nothing, to keep quiet encourages the system to continue to cover up - which it does already, profusely. TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.
LdV, Essex
...
After the loss of my dad on a ward of our local hospital in 2006, I see increased scrutiny of NHS care as the only comfort to the ongoing feelings of anger at the pitiful way he died. In recent weeks, with the Health Service Ombudsman review and the Dispatches films, some hope has again been given.
ReplyDeleteWhen my dad, Daniel Russell died after a short stay in hospital, he was very ill but despite the presence of his family, the final days of his life were unnecessarily miserable. Shocked by the attitudes of staff and his sudden deterioration, in the last days of his life we stayed with him round-the-clock.
All around us, other patients too were left soiled and crying in desperation at nights and for those last days, most staff treated my dad as though he were already dead. We are left feeling that if our protests had been stronger he might have got the care he deserved. We effectively sat back and watched dad die believing that staff somehow knew best. Despite the deep, lasting guilt, I dread to think what would have happened had he been alone.
I would love to believe that cases like this could be explained away by claims of limited funds and over-stretched resources. Unfortunately - though it might sound like gross exaggeration - attitudes among many staff towards the elderly patients at the time of dad’s death appeared nothing short of sadistic. It’s bizarre in a society that finds the idea of euthanasia so unpalatable that the vulnerable and terminally ill can be left to die a lingering death by neglect and indifference. It’s concerning enough that so little thought is given to the dietary needs of patients, some of whom are entirely at the mercy of their carers. Unfortunately, I worry that in too many cases this attitude is indicative of a fundamental attitude towards care of the elderly.
We have spent the past five years hoping for some sense of closure though it’s difficult to imagine how that could ever really be achieved. After facing the impenetrable complaints system, the various generic non-apology apologies from our NHS trust do very little to reflect a genuine acceptance or understanding of the seriousness of their failings. Until more recent media exposure, we had been allowed to believe our case was an isolated one but increasingly, frighteningly familiar stories have been made public.
To Mark Sparrow, congratulations and thanks for your previous Despatches film. It’s encouraging to see media interest in this issue though my greatest fear is that it will drift into obscurity again. One previous poster on your blog called for increased media exposure in the hope that combined complaints really will bring about fundamental change and accountability. The issue and the stories of those affected really must be heard and exchanged to bring about that change and to that end I desperately hope this will be given increasingly urgent and sustained attention in the media.
Indifference and cruelty are the byproducts of any monopoly. Rest assured, I won't let this go. After my own experiences I am passionately committed to making a difference even if it takes all my energy. My condolences for the loss of your dad. He's one more reason for me to keep on campaigning.
ReplyDelete