Hospitals are meant to cure and care for our loved ones, not destroy their quality of life
Last weekend, we 'celebrated' my older brother's 82nd birthday in a nursing home. Not where he or we had planned to spend it.
In early April, he went into a West Midlands hospital with an infection, shortly afterwards diagnosed as pneumonia. He was in a four-bed section of a ward which appeared fairly well-staffed. But despite numbers, it's difficult to do one's job properly or competently when there's a dominant culture of not caring.
A father of three and formerly a successful business owner, my brother has had dementia for several years now but, prior to his admission, he had a good quality of life. The pub one day or night a week for a zero beer with old friends and new, who made a fuss of him, meals out, and two days a week at dementia day care. Supported by a number of privately paid part-time carers, my sister-in-law cared for him so well, and he tucked into his food and watched his beloved sport on TV.
So, what happened to all that?
After four weeks in an NHS hospital, my brother was finally discharged, cured of pneumonia but unable to walk, doubly incontinent and having lost quite a lot of weight.
He was not taken to the toilet but kept throughout in 'nappies'. My sister-in-law frequently had to tell staff when his bed was soaking wet. He lost weight because meals were deposited in front of patients – if you were able-bodied you ate, if not, or confused with dementia, the meal just sat there before it was taken away. Only one male nurse we saw made any attempt to help patients eat. Physio was initially offered but only when he was still very ill with pneumonia. When well enough, we asked for physio but were told he hadn't engaged. So, no physio, despite protests.
He now sits in a wheelchair in what is an excellent nursing home paid for by his wife, after she discharged him, but the life he had is gone forever. Precious time was wasted at the hospital as unworkable home care packages were proposed. Having fractured her spine last summer lifting my brother from a fall and also recovering from an NHS treatment that has – at least temporarily – worsened her health, my sister-in-law can no longer care for him at home in the state he is now in.
It's more than fortunate that she has the funds (for now) to pay for a nursing home. So many others have no choice but to be in the hands of cash-strapped councils.
I've deliberately not shared my brother's name to protect his dignity and privacy, nor identified the hospital as a formal complaint will be made. I know that my brother's plight is not unique. But how can we ensure that the elderly and vulnerable, unable to speak for themselves, are not robbed of their mobility, dignity and quality of life as a result of such a short hospital stay.
I'm angry and sad in equal measures, and determined to warn others who are older and liable to require hospitalisation, to beware. Your NHS may have some nasty surprises in store.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State, it's too late for my brother, but what are you going to do and when to ensure that NHS hospitals are places of safety and prolong rather than shorten a decent quality of life?
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