Elderly being sent home from hospital

[Pixel7777]

I have an elderly relative who has been on and out of hospital recently. They have a long term lung condition and have been very poorly, requiring oxygen.

AIBU or is this really poor?

No discharge info to his elderly wife or him (only ones allowed in) or the GP...now again being discharged, even when unstable without oxygen, into the car park late in the evening with no info?

or is this normal these days.

Have had poor care in the past from this hospital but put it down to being busy. It's not anymore, it's nearly empty.

The trouble is that with a serious lung condition hospital isn't necessarily the best place at the moment 😢 my Dad has severe lung problems as well as heart and kidneys abs the last couple of admissions have been quick in and out - before they would definitely have kept him in. I hope he's ok x

Thanks I hope so too. I have printed off info about a respiratory service locally no idea why GP has not referred them previously. Ne needs oxygen really it seems as sats drop when not on it. He can hardly walk...

It’s normal. We treat our elderly in the most disgraceful way.

Pre-covid, another elderly relative was checked by the physiotherapist to see they could look after themselves and walk about etc before they went home. I thought they were meant to do that. It seems not.

they tried this a couple of days ago over the BH but his sats dropped and they changed their mind. Same thing, evening in the car park.

Sadly quite normal. Those that shout loudest get the best care.
Can you start ‘shouting’ on their behalf?

It's been hard because they won't let anyone in. Phone calls they say they will ring back and don't. GP says they have no info from the hospital

I had an elderly relative in hospital in Feb. He wasn’t particularly unwell, needed some o2 and IV insulin when admitted but After IV antiobiotics was able to come off. Before discharge the doctor rang us to discuss it all, an OT had a meeting with my Mum in his home to discuss how he manages and offered to ‘be the bad guy’ as before he had refused our request for him to wear an alarm and as he had a pressure sore develop in hospital they wanted him to have a downstairs bed with a mattress which was delivered quickly and a physio from the team came out to check it was all ok. We were so impressed with the NHS and the discharge process. Such a different experience to yours. Have they at least monitored whether he can walk or sleep without o2 safely? It might be that home is safer than hospital but not if he needs o2 and they haven’t organised it

No, nothing. They are waiting in the car park meant to be wheeling him out at 9pm

It's the second time he has been discharged too and they had to call an ambulance and had him re-admitted. he keeps turning blue and passing out.

I mean he could be end stage, not sure but at least they should communicate and not this shitshow.

I saw this today nor surprising if this is the way things are going

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53999485?intlink_from_url=www.bbc.co.uk/news/coronavirus&link_location=live-reporting-story" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53999485?intlink_from_url=www.bbc.co.uk/news/coronavirus&link_location=live-reporting-story

OP that is spectacularly shit. Your poor FIL Ive actually seen posts on here in the past about discharges at 3am.

3am! It's mad. It's not even busy. He's in a side room (or was)

Not normal - or at least not for my FiL. He has just been diagnosed w colon cancer and his care to date has been exemplary.

Use the term "unsafe discharge" and don't allow it until proper care has been put in place first

I was told that term for my own father from his housing warden. I'm not sure this relative would like involvement from SS Oh, not sure. I will try and help them with follow up form the GP if nothing happens.

I'm not elderly but I've just tonight been discharged from a ward at midnight. I'd driven myself there this morning and was admitted. Told me I was staying the night, then come in and told me I could leave! Had to walk back to my car alone, felt very vulnerable.
Whilst in there I saw lots and lots of elderly people. Alot of them had noone with them. Just lying there, very upsetting to see.
My own grandfather went through what your relative is now. Back and forward with unstable oxygen. Calling ambulances all the time. Unfortunately he eventually passed away one evening about 1 hour after being admitted. I remember my dad feeling angry about it all.

Things aren't working as they normally do for hospital discharges. Yanbu to be upset about it

Put a complaint n

It happened to my neighbour. 94, lives alone, copes well, very active, but is starting to show signs of dementia. Fell over two weeks ago, we think mid morning, and was found mid-afternoon when our other neighbour was concerned she hadn’t seen her and let herself in to check. Fortunately she’d got herself back to bed so she wasn’t just lying on the floor.
Ambulance came, they took her to hospital. And brought her home at 2am. To an empty house.
I thought that was shocking.

They got home, my husband basically carried him up the stairs he was so frail and weak and struggling without oxygen.

they gave a letter this time saying nothing about oxygen and just about a UTI. (seems to have got that in the hospital)

@Sparticuscaticus there were posts on here about 3am discharges way WAY before Covid.

So yet another thing Covid is being used as an excuse for.