Help with NHS and hiw to be moved wards

This happened to my mum. She was admitted with respiratory problems but was put on a general ward. Horrific experience right up to her death. No faith in hospitals now.

What's his plan ? When do they think he will be fit for discharge ?
I would try and focus on anything that could be done at home.
It is most likely a bed issue.
Our respiratory wards 'pull' their patients so the sickest and most acute are in the beds first.

That is shocking. Of course he shouldn't be exposed to this. Ask to be sent home.and give the reason. Nobody should tolerate this.

I fear this is the reality of hospitals these days.

Does he really need to be an inpatient? Could you bring him home with extra support/facilities? It might be worth exploring this with the discharge coordinator as they will be as keen as you are to get their inpatient numbers down. There may be support available that you just don't know about.

Eye mask as well as ear plugs to maximise his chances of napping during odd quiet moments during the day.

It’ll be because of lack of beds on the respiratory wards.

So sorry your partner is having to suffer this. I ended up on a surgical reception ward last year. In the middle of the night I thought I had been put in a geriatric ward, chaos from two other patients and a constant stream of trollies in-and out. They were carrying out (emergency) operations through the night. Was relieved to see a younger woman admitted the next morning.
I think these days that a paediatric ward is the only place where there are not patients with dementia. And what about the effect on patients with dementia? it must add to their confusion.

Realistically it'll be because there isn't a more appropriate bed available on the respiratory ward or a medical ward.

There may well be not much that can be done regarding that - providing that the ward has the appropriate equipment to care for a patient and that the relevant parent team are reviewing them etc. But by all means highlight it to the shift-cordinator or ward manager, in my hospital for example they may be to do some swapping where your partner can swap with a patient on a medical ward. Although belive me - there may well be elderly confused patients or people with dementia on any ward!

Equally (depending on the size of the ward itself) they may be able to swap him to a different bay that has less confused patients. We often try to cohort confused or wandersome patients into one bay and then have more staff in that bay.

PALS may help. However if there are no beds available on a respiratory ward then he may have to wait. Is his care being reviewed by the respiratory team? Agree behaviours may be no different there, age related and mh issues can be present in any ward.

My DM spent several days on a respiratory ward recently and it was exactly the same. Poor lady in her ward was so distressed she cried and screamed all night. It's not conducive to recovery but unfortunately there's not really an alternative. Ear plugs and home asap is the only real plan. Still, the ward was an improvement over the 36 hrs in a chair followed by the same again on a bed in a corridor! Hope your DH has a speedy recovery.

The majority of patients will be elderly. He will be on that ward because that is where there is space. My DH recently spent 3 days in the discharge lounge because that was the only space they had.

What you can do.

Get him ear plugs, snacks, headphones, a tablet with a charger.

Visit him and sit and guard the bed whilst he naps so he can get some rest.

Advocate to get him home as soon as possible.

Welcome to hospitals . You would be lucky to find any ward that doesn’t have elderly patients with dementia . Best idea is ear plugs and pull the curtains round the bed .

Have you spoken to the ward to ask why he's not been moved? I suspect it's probably a lack of beds on the relevant ward (this used to happen to DD once she reached adulthood, she's a chronic asthmatic and used to end up on some weird wards when admitted as an emergency) you can always speak to PALS.

Respiratory is likely to have a similar profile of patients.

Hopefully it's short term and he can get home soon to recover.

Sorry he's going through this. No idea if/what can be done but hoping he's on the mend and home soon

Respiratory is probably full of other patients with exactly the same difficulties.

Unfortunately this is how it is due to lack of beds. Patients like your dh 'boarded' wards not for what he's in for due to not being able to discharge other patients. It's chaos.