My friend with a brain injury who lives in a care home was sent to hospital (I think unaccompanied) by ambulance on Tuesday evening. Yesterday morning the care home got in touch with me (as Next of Kin) to ask if I knew where they were as it had not been written down.
By late afternoon we confirmed the hospital but I feel I should complain on the grounds of safeguarding that they effectively "lost" my friend. Am I overreacting?
Hi Dvorak, unfortunately communication re scheduled medical appointments has in the past been a problem for me due to unintentional oversights by nursing staff ( my son is in a care home following a cardiac arrest & subsequent hypoxia injury due to lack of oxygen). This has now been resolved as I have requested I receive a copy letter of all appointments/ any written communication to be sent to be as well as care home ( he is under 3 different hospitals). Maybe you can also request this, I am obviously his next of kin but I do not hold a power of attorney. On all occasions whether scheduled or not my son always is accompanied to hospital with a member of staff . His care home is very good & always tel me when they have a concern & they are admitting him to hospital & we meet ambulance there.
Having read your previous posts regarding your friends medical conditions I would have thought a member of staff should always attend with her regardless of reason. I would certainly put in a complaint to the manager as I agree it should be dealt with as a safeguarding issue.
Best wishes Nanapal x
Thanks Nanapal, this was an unplanned visit at 9pm and to be fair the care home called me but I missed the call and did not pick up the voicemail till early yesterday.
My concern was they didn't know which hospital the ambulance took my friend to and rang me to ask if I knew. I eventually got confirmation at 6pm via the PALS service but it was a lot of chasing all day...
I'm shocked, they should know where their residents are. This is negligent to not have this information recorded. The ambulance crew would have known where they were going.
Yes, it was my suggestion to contact ambulance service to see where the drop off was... In the end my friend was at the hospital she usually goes to, but it took most of the day to confirm that
this could have been an oversight by a member of staff who may not have had to deal with someone leaving the home by an ambulance or verifying much understaffed as a lot of places are these days .. definitely a good idea to be sent duplicate letters to you and I’m very surprised that they didn’t chase the hospitals to address they’re problems with lack of knowledge to where they had taken your friend and not involved you … I have had a TBI and worked in care homes and out in the community with mental health complex needs and the elderly pre my accident and have witnessed first had lack of staff , poor training and negligence …. I don’t think it would be classified as a safe guarding issue but a duplicate letter system would be great , so you are aware what’s happening .. sue x
Thank you, they are recruiting new staff so it may be inexperience but I am worried about systems not working or processes not being followed...Luckily i think my friend is unaware...
yes very true so many times training is very below what is needed and you are right to ask questions but I’ve also seen inexperienced staff dealing with issues that they have never done before but to go in an ambulance you are reassured they are within capable hands .. sue x
You are definitely NOT overreacting! That is utterly ridiculous that this level of incompetence exists but from what I’ve seen in my recent experience with my mom having a stroke is unfortunately all too normal.
If you are able to make a complaint please do in the hopes that they don’t have this happen in the future.
I hope your friend is ok despite this madness!♥️
I'm planning to visit today - just need to confirm location!
Hi Dvorak, I was a senior in a care home prior to my brain bleed, and we would have phoned until we had got hold of a relative if a member of staff wasn’t able to attend. The only times staff couldn’t go was covid, or if reduced numbers to unsafe level ie night shift, and you would always make sure you knew where the patient was going. Lots of luck love Alice xx
Thank you that is helpful to know. It was my expectation that the care home would know exactly where she had gone and would be able to verify promptly, so the fct that it was more than a working day and me that located my frined was unnerving, but I am new to all this really
An update on this.
I spoke to the Headway helpline and they advised me that it's the hospital's responsibility to let the care home and the next of kin know where the patient is.
I wish I'd known this at the time, it changes my view of what happened completely. I did apologize to the care home but I was very concerned about my friend.
Thanks for your support and letting you all know
Yes, as always it is down to poor training. I for one are totally at a loss regarding the NHS. For just less than 40yrs now I have been a huge supporter of the NHS but now I wouldn’t give most them the time of day. You don’t hear very often these days that doctors/nurses feel called to the profession, no it’s just a job. That is so obviously by how so many of the public are being treated. Now today they blame Covid for many of the problems. Thankfully I am married and I know first hand what it meant ( and still does) to my husband to be a general practitioner. It was a calling, there are still someone students coming through the ranks that would go the second mile for their patients. On the other side we also know how it feels to be treated badly by the NHS. For our son in his thirties meet with an accident the day Boris Johnson announced lockdown. Leaving him with a server TBI which has had a huge impact on all our lives and to this day no one has taken responsibility let alone apologised for the mistakes made in his care which led to this awful situation we’re in as a family.
My point is if they treat one of their own this badly ( our son was in the NHS and went the second mile for all those in his care) What chance does anyone have.
Hi Hopeful, sorry for the situation you are in and hope your son is going to improve, you seem to blame the nhs for your sons condition, but said he had an accident on the day of lockdown so I’m a little confused. I too used to be a nurse many moons ago so I know what you mean, about it no longer being a vocation, but that’s not true to everyone, there are good and bad in all walks of life, my daughter has just completed twenty two years as a trauma nurse in the army, she would go the extra mile, and it has destroyed her, she’s in her forties and can no longer nurse because of ptsd, and to see her as half the person she was is heartbreaking. I wish you and your son well, love Alice xx
Unsuitable care home
Live in carers?
Hi all I need your opinion 
Christmas in hospital. 
