Hi All,
I've been in the hospital for the last few days with my Mother In Law, who unfortunately has been unwell for several years. She is now in remission for Lymphoma cancer however through a rare condition she experienced brain damage and lost her eyesight through one of the drugs given to her in her chemotherapy treatment. Anyway, how tragic enough was that, she coped and eventually recovered to lead as best as life as possible, getting thru on a day to day basis. In 2009 she then discovered that the the brain injury problem had also caused her to suffer from the occasional epileptic fit. That's the past two "difficult" years summarised. Now for the present and the moan that I really thought I needed to post.
Unfortunately she had a fall three days ago, and fractured her hip. After being rushed into hospital, screaming in agony, we first had to fight with the hospital to give her enough morphine to keep her pain free, and then just when we thought it cudnt get any worse, we were asked by the A&E Doctor if we could go home and get her ellipsy pills as they had none on the ward. At first I thought this was a joke, after all, we were in a hospital! Surely they had every pill possible right ! Not so.
The problems do not end there unfortunately...
After recovering from her Hip operation the following day, she experienced a prolonged 'life threatening' fit whilst recovering in the ward. I fully appreciate the job that nurses do and the hospital staff however I was shocked when I called the nurse over to attend to my Mother In Law, only for her to turn around and say she was not aware that she was epileptic. Sorry ! Did you just really say you were not aware ! God forbid what could have happened if I wasn't there.
Anyway, 75 minutes later and with several medical and oncall doctors around her bed keeping her stable, they made the decision to inject her with Lorazapam to ease the muscles and help her recover from the fit. This is when the icing on the cake happened. After making the right decision the the team realised that they did not have the drugs on the ward, and they had to send the staff nurse (who was supposed to be managing the ward) to rush down to resus to get the Lorazapam needed to give it to her via injection.
You can say I was stunned to say the least !
I fully appreciate what the nurses and hospital staff do, and I thought the situation had improved with hospital staff and resources, but it looks like I might have been wrong. The staff do a fantastic job but you always get the impression they are still working excessive amount of hours, and there is still too much bureaucracy and cost cutting that makes their jobs that much harder, which is a real shame.
Whilst in A&E, I have never seen so many people photocopy before. The nurses never stopped photocopying. It makes you wonder what internal processes and practices force them to photocopy so much. They should be able to spend more time around patients beds, rather than on photocopiers.
Anyhow, Im sure you'll be pleased to know that my Mother In Law is stable, on the right drugs (again) and on the road to recovery.
xx
That was terrifying reading! How awful for you and your MIL. As you say thank goodness you were there. Hopefully she recovers well without any more dramas. Reiki blessings to you both. If I'm stunned I have no idea how you must be feeling. :hug:
What an awful experience for you all. As Serenwen says, I can't imagine how you must be feeling. Would this not be a case for questions to the mamagement? When I was nursing we used to have an emergency trolley in each ward with all the equipment (and drugs) on it and when we had change of shift there was always a verbal report given on each patient, so everyone knew what was going on and any potential problems (epilepsy, etc!) as the shift started. Do they not do this any more?
Hi Caroline, I think there is a limit as to what drugs are stored on each ward nowadays. They had the pills to give orally but not to give through injection. Guess this is where the cost cutting comes into play.
Since my last post I also found out that it was the Tramadal tablets (not sure of spelling) that was given to her for pain killers following the hip operation that had caused the seizure. Known side effect and especially if the patient suffers from an existing head or brain injury. You can't change what happened but I will certainly be asking stern questions as to why a person who suffers from epilepsy was given a tablet that is known to increase the risk of seizures. Anyway good thing is she is on the mend and ready to be discharged.
Joanne xx
Drugs in hospital
Hi All,
I've been in the hospital for the last few days with my Mother In Law, who unfortunately has been unwell for several years. She is now in remission for Lymphoma cancer however through a rare condition she experienced brain damage and lost her eyesight through one of the drugs given to her in her chemotherapy treatment. Anyway, how tragic enough was that, she coped and eventually recovered to lead as best as life as possible, getting thru on a day to day basis. In 2009 she then discovered that the the brain injury problem had also caused her to suffer from the occasional epileptic fit. That's the past two "difficult" years summarised. Now for the present and the moan that I really thought I needed to post.
Unfortunately she had a fall three days ago, and fractured her hip. After being rushed into hospital, screaming in agony, we first had to fight with the hospital to give her enough morphine to keep her pain free, and then just when we thought it cudnt get any worse, we were asked by the A&E Doctor if we could go home and get her ellipsy pills as they had none on the ward. At first I thought this was a joke, after all, we were in a hospital! Surely they had every pill possible right ! Not so.
The problems do not end there unfortunately...
After recovering from her Hip operation the following day, she experienced a prolonged 'life threatening' fit whilst recovering in the ward. I fully appreciate the job that nurses do and the hospital staff however I was shocked when I called the nurse over to attend to my Mother In Law, only for her to turn around and say she was not aware that she was epileptic. Sorry ! Did you just really say you were not aware ! God forbid what could have happened if I wasn't there.
Anyway, 75 minutes later and with several medical and oncall doctors around her bed keeping her stable, they made the decision to inject her with Lorazapam to ease the muscles and help her recover from the fit. This is when the icing on the cake happened. After making the right decision the the team realised that they did not have the drugs on the ward, and they had to send the staff nurse (who was supposed to be managing the ward) to rush down to resus to get the Lorazapam needed to give it to her via injection.
You can say I was stunned to say the least !
I fully appreciate what the nurses and hospital staff do, and I thought the situation had improved with hospital staff and resources, but it looks like I might have been wrong. The staff do a fantastic job but you always get the impression they are still working excessive amount of hours, and there is still too much bureaucracy and cost cutting that makes their jobs that much harder, which is a real shame.
Whilst in A&E, I have never seen so many people photocopy before. The nurses never stopped photocopying. It makes you wonder what internal processes and practices force them to photocopy so much. They should be able to spend more time around patients beds, rather than on photocopiers.
Anyhow, Im sure you'll be pleased to know that my Mother In Law is stable, on the right drugs (again) and on the road to recovery.
xx
I am sorry to hear of your experiences and I am glad she is now on the road to recovery.
I am a hospital pharmacist so I can explain some of the things to you. Wards cannot hold every drug in stock. If the anti-convulsant was not one that they routinely use I would not expect them to have it on the ward. If it also isn't in the hospitals formulary then the pharmacy are unlikely to ave it in stock either. Fot this reason it is standard practice for ambulance crews to ask for all patients medication to be taken in on admission. Not only does this ensure supplies are available - but it also gives them a chance of getting an accurate medication history if they cannot contact the GP to get information.
So the request to bring medication in sounds standard to me.
About the Loroazepam they didnt have in stock well there will be a system to ensure stock drugs are readily available. But they can and do go wrong. If they have had unexpectedly high use of a particular drug for instance. Also sadly the pharmacy may have problems getting supplies of some drugs in. This could mean the Lorazepam wasn't available when it was first flagged up as being needed for the ward. Thes back orders would be flagged once the pharmacy got the supplies in, but there is bound to be a delay between the drug arriving in the pharmacy stores and actually getting to the ward. The drug supply chain from manufacturer to patient is a long complex process 🙁
I know it is little consolation to say 'these things happen' but sadly they do and there is little the nurses or pharmacy staff can do except do their best.
hi joanne , so sorry to hear about your mother in law , and im glad she is recovering .
i have been a nurse for 26 years so i have seen the changes over the years which have not been for the greater good , i feel as nurses we get the blame. nurses are leaving the proffesion in droves ( god knows who will look after us when we are older ) .
the problem we find is funding - they use the cheapest of everything , and we have no up date equipment. management are non clinical so therefore dont understand medical issues ie - why hasnt this pt being discharged ? they are 2 days post operative , they dont realise the patient may have had complications .
the nhs is all about targets and finance
there has been many a time i have cried (and my colleagues ) because i cant care for my patients properly .
to be honest i am sick of the abuse i recieve from relatives and patients and would leave the profession if i could afford it .
all we ask is give us the time and equipment to care for our patients properly ! as nurses no one cares for us we are just a kicking board !
we just have to shut up and put up
sorry for the rant
Pharmacists feel much the same
Sally
I was in hospital for surgery back in January, the staff, the facilities were fantastic. It was clean, in good condition and I was well looked after. If I had any gripes, it would be that it was a mixed ward and the food left a lot to be desired.
Myarka.
..as to why the A&E staff keep photocopying - they have to photocopy the A&E notes whenever they take a patient to a ward. The originals then stay in A&E (so that they have some history available if the patient comes back in again), and the copies go to the ward with the patient and are added to their main hospital notes - so that the ward staff know what happened in A&E.
If you want an idea of the state of morale of hospital staff, have a look at this blog spot: www.drrant.net
i just had a stay in Queens hospital Burton and I have to say the care was absolutely brilliant and the nurses/midwives/consultants all really kind and helpful. Just wanted to let you know there are positive experiences to be had in our NHS hospitals soon if you're really lucky! 😀
If I had one complaint it would be the food. Half of it not even cooked 😀
Good to hear your MIL is okay now.