Day 3
Its Saturday the 15th of October and Gramps has made it through another night. Rich and I arrived this morning about 08:45am. We found him sleeping and looking comfortable. We have been her for two hours now and have not yet has anyone come into him. He has been awake a few times and has a drink on those occasions and then gone back off to sleep. It appears that no medication has been needed yet. He mentioned feeling a little sick on his last sit up. He is moving his arms and hands a lot today and has continued to chat in his sleep. We will await an update on how his night went. The family are making plans to all visit today, but we will be here until tonight in between those visits so he is not on his own when he wakes up. I have always thought that a hospital would run the same every day, but already we are seeing the difference. This is not just the different opening times for the limited offering of food and drink places! It’s been over two hours now and no one has been into Gramps yet, not a cleaner the tea lady or a medical professional?
Ward Staff too Stretched to Care.
It’s now midday and we have been here a little over 3 hours. No one has yet to come into Gramps, no nurse, no tea lady, no doctor, no update! Gramps is still comfortable and has had a beaker of water over the last few times of him being awake, none of which he would have had we not been here! I should go out there and ask for an update, but it’s now got to the stage where it’s a see how long it is until someone comes in! Thankfully Gramps is none the wiser so it’s not detrimental to him, but makes me wonder if he suddenly became unwell would they even know? My experience over the last few days is someone poking their head in at least every 30 to 45 minutes! That’s with them knowing I am in here, they, as far as I know, don’t know we are here, as I would have expected an update by now. My brother is on route and so is his other granddaughter and great granddaughter and his son so we will head down for lunch while they are here. So, it appears from today that the weekends in the hospital things are not the same every day on the wards!
We popped down to the canteen for a bit while my cousin and her dad visited. They weren’t gone long and then reappeared having been told they couldn’t take her daughter on the ward due to a covid patient. We came back up and found that no one has still been into Gramps. So, it’s now 14:10pm and we have been here for 5 and half hours and no one has been into him or offered anything to him, seen if he is in any pain. I have seen two people in that time glance in the window when they have passed. I spoke to my cousin as they were leaving, and she had asked a nurse to empty his leg bag as it was full. There is no concern as it will go into the bag attached but still no one has come. So, views on the weekend care on the ward I have to say so far is shocking!!
Care Staff Essential on the Wards..
It’s now 16:15 and the care team have been in and managed to get Gramps changed and put fresh sheets on the bed and over him. They have done brilliantly with him. Just before this happened the nurse who had been asked by cousin at 13:30 to come and update us. I asked how he had been through the night and asked why he wasn’t being offered food or anything. The nurse then said he was on clear fluids only. This is a massive change from the night before as he was being offered anything he wanted. So, after some confused looks by all they said he was on the board and the magnet indicators outside the room say he is on clear fluids only! Still, no one can confirm when this changed as they say he has had that sign outside for days. Now, yesterday as I explained he had three meals and was offered drinks throughout the day? So, we are all none the wiser only to know that he is now on clear fluids only, and of course today all he wants is a cup of tea! How’s your luck! For the squeamish don’t read the next couple of lines. I checked with the team who came and assisted with his bed sheets and a freshen up and they said that he had a bit of a bowel movement, which was just bypass materials as we know that he won’t pass a stool. So, we will await news now on why he has now gone to clear fluids only, but I won’t hold my breath on any news today.
Whilst outside we were chatting to an agency nurse who is on a ward watch for some patience’s and touched base with a nurse who has been on the ward a few times. She is watching some patience’s living with Dementia and who are not very settled on the ward. She is tasked to support these individuals when they become disorientated and distressed. Sometimes known as aggressive and uncooperative to the untrained in good dementia care and communication. This is what we were mentioning yesterday in our blog regarding poor communication leads to misunderstood behaviours. When on a ward this is very challenging as there are many triggers to an individual’s behaviours. These can’t possibly be known or controlled on a ward of 40ish patience. If each of these individuals are on a dementia journey you are going to have the odd one that is completely unsettled by their circumstances. There is not the one-to-one care that can happen at home and the nurses and care teams are stretched as we know. It was reassuring to me to see this lovely agency worker on the ward and the reason for her being here. It makes me feel that I would love to offer our team to local dementia wards to help give that one-to-one support needed. This is something I will chat to them about and explore. If we can support people in the hospital to have a more pleasant experience and to relive the nurses a little, then it is surely a win.
Music and Dementia a Winning Combination..
Gramps has been brought in some clear soup and some apple juice but is sleeping. He has drunk well today in-between his snoozing. He has had the family visit today which has been nice for him. Of what he remembers of the visits we will never know. He has been talking well today and has made us laugh on occasion and he has laughed too which is fantastic. He has sat up a few times and has been tapping his hands to music when we have played him some of his favourites. Music is very powerful as we know. It’s been very quiet on the ward today and that’s been nice for him. I am always amazed how loud the staff can be when they are at their station outside the room. I have also noticed a lack of quietness if that the right word when they come into the room. They often just start talking or crashing about emptying or using the facilities in his room. I have reduced this by closing the outside door. I think keeping the ward calm would help the patience to relax a little. Again, its time and knowledge that people lack in the world of Dementia.
I asked gramps if he would like the TV on this evening and played one of his favourite programmes and this seemed to get him chatting. He was really bright this evening during our last couple of hours with him today. It was hard to leave this evening as he was so chatty, but we need to get something to eat and grab some sleep. It has left me feeling a little guilty tonight, but I know he would go mad that we have been here all day let alone thinking of staying the night if he was compos mentis. So, we leave him tonight with us feeling a little unsettled and hope this is the bright spell is not the calm before the storm…..