Holiday problems

[prunus]

My elder son kindly took us for a holiday in the West Country. My OH was taken ill and into hospital where he still is. My son had to be back at work on Thursday and I came back with him to West London. He will need rehab and transferring to our local Hospital, a different Trust. Can any of you knowledgeable people tell me what is likely to be happening in the background, how long it will take and who funds it?

[jinasc]

The following is the service as part of the NHS which will answer all your queries.

.Contact Patient Liaison at either of the hospitals, they will tell you everything you need to know.

nhs.uk/common-health.../wha...

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) offers confidential advice, support and information on health-related matters. They provide a point of contact for families etc. ..

The Red Cross does some transfers, not sure about which ones.

[prunus in reply to jinasc]

Many thanks for that helpful info.

[SheffieldJane]

Commissioning guidance for NHS Rehabilitation following illness or accident. A Document I found when I googled your question ( you need to add illness or accident or you get alcohol and drugs) should answer your question.

I am so sorry that your holiday was ruined in this way and that you are experiencing such worry and stress. I hope that he will be on the mend soon. Don’t forget to care for yourself in all this.

[prunus in reply to SheffieldJane]

Many thanks for that - I will follow it up. I was not expecting when I woke up on Sunday morning to find my husband asking me to dial 999 for him. I felt pretty upset but the paramedics were very good.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your husband, you must be worried, but he's in the best place, and hopefully will soon be near enough for you to visit.

Simple answer, when the medics at his current hospital think he's well enough to be transferred, when transport is available, and the NHS will fund if he's an NHS patient, which I assume he is!

[prunus in reply to DorsetLady]

Thanks for your concern and help. I know he will be well looked after but it was not easy to leave him. One of the problems was we were twenty seven miles from the hospital and I would have had no transport. One day we were in Dorset and I did think of you.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to prunus]

So what hospital is he in now?

[prunus in reply to DorsetLady]

He's in Yeovil Hospital.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to prunus]

Ok, not my local, but think it’s quite good. Hopefully he’ll be home soon.

Take care

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Sorry to hear that - and what a shame you've had to leave him there. I do hope he recovers well.

[prunus in reply to PMRpro]

We have got to the age when we are not in the best of health and we were only able to get away thanks to my son. Now my husband is saying he does not want to go away again next year. Last year he managed a heart attack and sepsis. Fortunately this was just before we should have gone to Italy.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to prunus]

You can understand it! When we bought this flat, knowing we hoped to use it for a long time and possibly live here, we had a long check list - and top of it was having a doctor in the village and a hospital within easy reach. Our daughter is a paramedic in Whitby and we bought her a flat there as she needed somewhere with easy parking late at night - that doesn't happen there in summer or weekends! It would be a perfect retirement flat if it were anywhere else but on a Helicopter ER programme the other day they said Whitby is the most remote town in Yorkshire - it is nearly an hour even on blue lights to the nearest hospital on a good day! So we are forbidden to live there ...

[jinasc in reply to PMRpro]

That was the big factor when we first moved here,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,10 mins max to QE, needed to be near for Mam.

You can both come here and put up with us🤔 or would that be too much ????

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to jinasc]

NE weather doesn't compare with here

[jinasc in reply to PMRpro]

Yup, past week never been below 20c and today 23c - luckily with a little wind.

Climate change rules KO...............I am actually having to water the garden, which I never do normally, just the pots...............no rain for two weeks.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to jinasc]

Swop the 20C with 30C (I lied, we had one day where it was only 25C ) Today - 32C but there is some thin high cloud ...

[PMRCanada in reply to PMRpro]

We just had a 5-day humid heatwave here in Southern Ontario, Canada. Reached 40c with the humidex one of those days. The pool temperature went from 71 to 81 degrees in a few short days. (whew)

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to PMRCanada]

It starts humid in the mornings but by mid afternoon it reaches under 20% ...

[Hunter134 in reply to PMRCanada]

Where are you from in Ontario?I live in Hamilton Ontario.

[PMRCanada in reply to Hunter134]

I’m in Tillsonburg, about an hour away! My husband is from Hamilton and his daughters live there, so we visit quite regularly. I have been in contact with a few other folks from Ontario, and am hoping to set up a face-to-face meeting for anyone who might be interested. Send me a private message on here if you are interested.

[prunus in reply to PMRpro]

Where you are is fine for you because you speak fluent German. If you are living abroad you need fluency. I asked an English lady in Spain how long it took her to become fluent and she said three years. I have been on holidays before now when it has been a frustration not to be able to ask questions.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to prunus]

Took me 6 months to get to coping level when I first lived in Germany - I arrived speaking no German.

You are quite right though - I have little sympathy with people who move abroad with no language background and expect them to speak English for their benefit. Tourists who don't speak the language are different - but if you live somewhere you do have to make the effort I think.

[prunus in reply to PMRpro]

I could not agree more. Last time I was in hospital there was an Indian lady who had lived in England for thirty years and spoke no English. Her family came to feed her at 10o'clock at night. That was when the rest of us wanted to try and sleep. Myself and another lady were quite vocal about it disturbing the rest of the ward.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to prunus]

And the ward had to pay for an interpreter unless there was a member of staff who spoke the same language. My husband used to have to provide one if a patient who didn't speak English came for a test - and it came out of his budget which reduced the money he had to spend on other patient-related items.

[prunus in reply to PMRpro]

I always remember being pregnant in the early days of Indians coming to Leicester. Chaos reigned when I had to go to the hospital. In those days the poor nurses seemed to think if they shouted the women would understand.

[piglette]

When my father was taken ill in Swansea he went into the local hospital. The NHS then paid for him to be moved to a more local hospital and organised it all. We drove down and were with him when he got ready for the trip and then followed him. You do not have to be there though.

[Koalajane]

A few years ago we were in a car crash and I was airlifted to a hospital in Birmingham. About 5 days later passenger transport took me back to my local hospital in Shrewsbury. It all went very smoothly apart from some xrays going missing.

[Blearyeyed]

As others have said , the system generally tries to move the patient as soon as possible after the patient is at a level of comfort and symptom control that makes it possible for them to travel.

The Medical Team usually try and arrange these things considerately understanding that keeping them from travel just in case after things have settled isn't generally good for the patients recovery or the Family.

It can take a few days from the point that the patient is given permission by the Medical Team in charge of care at the Hospital they are currently in to arrange the transport and make the appropriate bed available at the Hospital close to home.

It only usually takes longer than that if you are crossing borders between different NHS systems , like moving from NHS Scotland or Wales to NHS England , and vice versa , as the care is funded by different areas so it involves a little more paperwork and coordination.

It can help to have a family member there on the day to help support the move , but that isn't always possible dependent on the type of transport that the patient needs or potential care support while they are on the move. It often has alot to do with liability and insurance.

They will let you know about this , and it is good to ring and speak to the Ward Manager and Patient Support each day for regular updates on progress to make sure things keep ticking along , it's good to keep your paperwork on the top of the stack!

If you can't travel with your husband , for whatever reason , they will let you know when they are travelling and which ward to meet them at at your local hospital.

So sorry you had such an upsetting thing happen on your holiday and I hope your OH feels better very soon .

[prunus in reply to Blearyeyed]

Last night they said he was no longer a medical problem and have moved him down from the ninth floor to the seventh floor. That is what he told me.

[Blearyeyed in reply to prunus]

Thanks keep letting us know the progress .

It's Monday now , so I assume preparations and plans will kick off again as nothing of that nature of organisation happens over the weekend as Admin Departments usual keep standard business office hours.

If you want to see how things are progressing and haven't heard from the Hospital ringing them about 11.30 is usually a good time , before lunch but after they have time to go through the work they need to do after the weekend and have found out the ward lists for discharges .

If they say they need to check with things and then get back to you , you can always suggest that you will ring back through after 2.30 to see where they have got too ( post lunch but not so late in the day that if they haven't dealt with your case yet that they have no time to start sorting it out).

With any luck he could be on his way tomorrow x

[prunus in reply to Blearyeyed]

Thinking about it I don't know the number of the Hospital - I just ring my husband when I want a word. This morning he was sleepy. He'd had a better night. So far he has had about three wet beds due to leaking catheters. They would save themselves a lot of work if they made better connections and leave him more comfortable.

[yogabonnie]

I know nothing of your wonderful and good for so many (in my estimation) NHS but I do send your OH lots of healing energy and so much to you too. What a stressful thing but you have to stay well so when he is closer and then home you are feeling healthy. So sorry. Best wishes.

[prunus in reply to yogabonnie]

Many thanks for that. Unfortunately on Saturday evening when I was watching Serena and Andy play their match I got a migraine with aura so that was that. I suppose it was stress.

[Hidden in reply to prunus]

I hope you are feeling better today. Just remember to take care of yourself and keep us in touch. 🌻

[prunus in reply to Hidden]

So far so good but I am frightened of another. Will let you know when I have any news.

[yogabonnie in reply to prunus]

I know it might be an old wives tale,,but after having 3 migraines with aura in a row.. and having at least 1 a month after starting prednisone..I tried CoQ10 because someone told me to... (the gummies because they are like candy!... and lo and behold in the last year I have had only 1 migraine which was directly due to stress. You never know! it might work for you. (I am very easily influenced and a big placebo effect person I suspect!)

[prunus in reply to yogabonnie]

Thanks for that. I do take regular magnesium which was recommended in an article I read. I had thought I was doing well not having had one since November, but I suppose stress caught up with me.

[ShirleyAb]

Our granddaughter needed to be transferred by ambulance from North Wales to Dorset. My daughter understood that Dorset would repay North Wales for the transport cost - however my daughter has a "people carrier" and with an inflatable mattress turned it into a make-do ambulance to the relief of all. This is probably of no help at all, but it seemed to be a relevant anecdote. Best wishes to your husband for a speedy return to home and to good health.

[prunus in reply to ShirleyAb]

That was good but we havn't a people carrier though.

[artfingers]

Here in Michigan in the U.S. my husband and I have been having second thoughts about our cottage. When he broke his hip last July they took him to the nearest big hospital (25 minutes away) but there were no orthopedic surgeons available and wouldn't be for 4 days! So our insurance paid to have him transported 3 hours back home by ambulance, where, thankfully, my orthopedic doctor was able to operate the next day. That was the day our vacation was supposed to have started. Ugh. I hope your husband gets better quickly! (Of course when I retire, my "excellent" insurance will change to be a lesser version of Blue Cross Blue Shield, but also thankfully, we have Medicare.)

[prunus in reply to artfingers]

This is the reason why we decided to stay put originally - access to various services.