Healthcare System Failed my Grandmother

Off Topic
1

On Easter Monday, my 89-year-old grandmother was admitted to hospital. Having suffered from (increasingly bad) dementia for the past couple of years, she wandered into her kitchen during the early hours, fell, and broke her femur; luckily, my father (who has lived with/cared for her since my parents divorced) was there to call for an ambulance to get her to the hospital.

My issue here isn’t the fact that there have been failures with addressing her broken leg (which was treated and set right,) it’s that there has been huge ignorance towards other risks which she has been facing. As mentioned, my father has been caring for her at home, and as such, he has been treating ulcers which have been affecting her lower limbs for years (he is a doctor himself.)

Following her admission and surgery, my father has REPEATEDLY informed hospital staff that the ulcers require treatment and dressing on a regular basis, to prevent infection- he has hounded nurses, stayed long hours in order to talk to specialists, kicked up a fuss with members of staff, all in an attempt to make sure that he was heard and that she was properly taken care of. However, she wasn’t; the ulcers which already existed have deepened, and more have developed- all of which have become infected.

Dressings which were put on them by the hospital staff remained unchanged for weeks, despite my father’s attempts to raise the issue, and no attempts were made to treat infections. Surgery-wise, amputation has been mentioned, but the odds of an 89-year-old surviving such a procedure are incredibly slim. On the other hand, these infections will only get worse; long story short, there likely isn’t much time until they take their toll.

On a personal level, I am disgusted with the lack of care and attention which she received, and am furious with the ignorance with which they treated my father, who was trying to ensure that she received the treatment she needed. If hospital staff supposedly have a “duty-of-care”, it now makes me wonder where they draw the line on what they are prepared to do.

To treat a confused, scared and elderly woman with what I feel is such a lack of respect is inexcusable, and I can only hope that such a thing isn’t commonplace. Needed to vent about this, simply because there’s nothing more I can do, or any line of action to take. Can anybody else relate, or have any sort of similar experience?

2

[quote]watermelon_2001 wrote:
On Easter Monday, my 89-year-old grandmother was admitted to hospital. Having suffered from (increasingly bad) dementia for the past couple of years, she wandered into her kitchen during the early hours, fell, and broke her femur; luckily, my father (who has lived with/cared for her since my parents divorced) was there to call for an ambulance to get her to the hospital.

My issue here isn’t the fact that there have been failures with addressing her broken leg (which was treated and set right,) it’s that there has been huge ignorance towards other risks which she has been facing. As mentioned, my father has been caring for her at home, and as such, he has been treating ulcers which have been affecting her lower limbs for years (he is a doctor himself.)

Following her admission and surgery, my father has REPEATEDLY informed hospital staff that the ulcers require treatment and dressing on a regular basis, to prevent infection- he has hounded nurses, stayed long hours in order to talk to specialists, kicked up a fuss with members of staff, all in an attempt to make sure that he was heard and that she was properly taken care of. However, she wasn’t; the ulcers which already existed have deepened, and more have developed- all of which have become infected.

Dressings which were put on them by the hospital staff remained unchanged for weeks, despite my father’s attempts to raise the issue, and no attempts were made to treat infections. Surgery-wise, amputation has been mentioned, but the odds of an 89-year-old surviving such a procedure are incredibly slim. On the other hand, these infections will only get worse; long story short, there likely isn’t much time until they take their toll.

On a personal level, I am disgusted with the lack of care and attention which she received, and am furious with the ignorance with which they treated my father, who was trying to ensure that she received the treatment she needed. If hospital staff supposedly have a “duty-of-care”, it now makes me wonder where they draw the line on what they are prepared to do.

To treat a confused, scared and elderly woman with what I feel is such a lack of respect is inexcusable, and I can only hope that such a thing isn’t commonplace. Needed to vent about this, simply because there’s nothing more I can do, or any line of action to take. Can anybody else relate, or have any sort of similar experience?[/quote]

My dad went to the emergency room with numbness on one side of his body. They told him he just needed rest. Went to his regular doctor the next day who immediately sent him for tests an ended up having emergency carotid artery surgery. The numbness was from lack of oxygen to half his brain. The ER almost killed him.

3

Sorry to hear that. I had a shitty experience at St. Joes hospital in Paterson NJ after my back surgery a couple months ago, but it’s nothing compared to what you’re going through. The nurses at St. Joes really didn’t give a flying fuck about the patients but your experience is on a whole different level.

St. Joes in Wayne, NJ was the opposite experience. They were great for my knee surgery and I felt like they cared about their patients.

4

Sorry to hear about what happened to your grandmother, OP.

I guess they think she’s too old to be looked after. They assume she hasn’t got long to live so they don’t give a shit. But that wouldn’t happen to Britain’s prince consort, eh? He’d get the best doctors and the best care and attention the same night he’d suffer from heart failure.

An English friend of mine’s grandmother was in similar situation years back. She was 84. She had hernia, suffered from chest pain and something else I can’t remember. With the NHS, of course treatment is free of charge but care is not always the best. My friend was so stressed every time she came back from visiting her grandmother in the hospital. The nurses and doctor always seemed not to give a damn about her and wouldn’t acknowledge the relatives’ worries and concern. By the time the family considered switching to private care, it was too late.

5

Is it just me or does it seem like doctors don’t know what they are talking about or doing?

I’ve had a couple injuries where I’d see a doctor. They would tell me what to do and what not to do to heal it. I’d go in for a check up and get a different doctor. They’d ask what I’ve been doing and then tell me I shouldn’t be doing that stuff. They would tell me to do the opposite of what the original doctor said.

Or when I’d tell them what the original doctor said they would get this screwed up look on their face like the previous doctor was treating me wrongly. Annoys the hell out of me. I think sometimes they think I’m making this stuff up because they don’t think a doctor would tell a patient to do these things.

6

[quote]Grimlorn wrote:
Is it just me or does it seem like doctors don’t know what they are talking about or doing?

I’ve had a couple injuries where I’d see a doctor. They would tell me what to do and what not to do to heal it. I’d go in for a check up and get a different doctor. They’d ask what I’ve been doing and then tell me I shouldn’t be doing that stuff. They would tell me to do the opposite of what the original doctor said.

Or when I’d tell them what the original doctor said they would get this screwed up look on their face like the previous doctor was treating me wrongly. Annoys the hell out of me. I think sometimes they think I’m making this stuff up because they don’t think a doctor would tell a patient to do these things.[/quote]

It’s not you. Have you ever noticed that you never walk out with a diagnosis when you see a dr? They never really know. When I was going with my back issues to different drs, I got the full range from “It’s all in your head” to “You’re back is royally fucked, you need surgery.” It’s maddening.
I have edema in the lumber musculature where they went in to do my surgery. It’s a swollen pocket of pain and misery. My surgeon thinks its unusual and sends me to a neroulogist to get a second opinion. This idiot tells me, it’s not swollen, it’s just scar tissue and that the surgery likely straitened my spine out a little so it’s just protruding from that. He said if I had edema then he could see it being swollen. I said “I do have edema, it says so on the MRI report”…(It’s not like you need the fucking report anyway, you can see it. It a six inch long oval that sticks up about a half inch. It’s not like it isn’t obvious…If I had that much scar tissue, it would need to be removed for real.) So he quickly looks down at the report again and says “Oh. Well you must have a little edema. That just takes time.” Idiot.
Needless to say, that was a worthless visit. He then wanted to put me on ‘neurontin’. I asked “Does that help with edema?” He said, “No.” I said, “No, thanks.”

You know, if you are going to put me on a drug that has no effect on my condition, at least make sure it has a kick-ass buzz. I mean really.

7

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]Grimlorn wrote:
Is it just me or does it seem like doctors don’t know what they are talking about or doing?

I’ve had a couple injuries where I’d see a doctor. They would tell me what to do and what not to do to heal it. I’d go in for a check up and get a different doctor. They’d ask what I’ve been doing and then tell me I shouldn’t be doing that stuff. They would tell me to do the opposite of what the original doctor said.

Or when I’d tell them what the original doctor said they would get this screwed up look on their face like the previous doctor was treating me wrongly. Annoys the hell out of me. I think sometimes they think I’m making this stuff up because they don’t think a doctor would tell a patient to do these things.[/quote]

It’s not you. Have you ever noticed that you never walk out with a diagnosis when you see a dr? They never really know. When I was going with my back issues to different drs, I got the full range from “It’s all in your head” to “You’re back is royally fucked, you need surgery.” It’s maddening.
I have edema in the lumber musculature where they went in to do my surgery. It’s a swollen pocket of pain and misery. My surgeon thinks its unusual and sends me to a neroulogist to get a second opinion. This idiot tells me, it’s not swollen, it’s just scar tissue and that the surgery likely straitened my spine out a little so it’s just protruding from that. He said if I had edema then he could see it being swollen. I said “I do have edema, it says so on the MRI report”…(It’s not like you need the fucking report anyway, you can see it. It a six inch long oval that sticks up about a half inch. It’s not like it isn’t obvious…If I had that much scar tissue, it would need to be removed for real.) So he quickly looks down at the report again and says “Oh. Well you must have a little edema. That just takes time.” Idiot.
Needless to say, that was a worthless visit. He then wanted to put me on ‘neurontin’. I asked “Does that help with edema?” He said, “No.” I said, “No, thanks.”

You know, if you are going to put me on a drug that has no effect on my condition, at least make sure it has a kick-ass buzz. I mean really. [/quote]

I can’t help but think that doctors-in-training could use more OJT, and less medical school, to get an abundance of practical experience early on. Granted, I personally know little about the medical profession’s ins and outs, it’s just an observation from other jobs, including my own (Not to brag, but my job is quite technical, not talking out my ass here). It frustrates me that people are ‘obligated’ to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on an education, then when they FINALLY get into the field they’ve studied for for upwards of a decade, they don’t know anything about what it ACTUALLY involves, aside from some theory and such. Anyone else feel this way?

8

[quote]hungry4more wrote:
I can’t help but think that doctors-in-training could use more OJT, and less medical school, to get an abundance of practical experience early on. Granted, I personally know little about the medical profession’s ins and outs, it’s just an observation from other jobs, including my own (Not to brag, but my job is quite technical, not talking out my ass here). It frustrates me that people are ‘obligated’ to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on an education, then when they FINALLY get into the field they’ve studied for for upwards of a decade, they don’t know anything about what it ACTUALLY involves, aside from some theory and such. Anyone else feel this way?[/quote]
Med schools are different. I’ve had practical training since the first month and handle my own patients (of course with a doctor checking to see I’m doing things right) now during my third year, whereas some schools pretty much just tell you to memorize 30 lbs of books and let you watch a doc work during your last years. The trend is more early patient contact.

OP: That really sucks man, sorry to hear that. Have they tried treating it with anything? Checked what bacteria are causing the infection and what they’re resistant to? Can’t your dad prescribe some antibiotics?