Hospital outbreaks killed both my grandparents

[littlepieces]

Both my lovely grandparents have died from Covid in this second wave. They hadn't left the house since March, we've been so careful. Then my grandmother got an infection late last year and had to be treated in hospital. She was there just over a week, doing well, and then she picked up Covid and died. A couple of months later my granddad had a bad fall and had to be checked out at hospital. We were terrified for him. He ended up staying for 10 days, also picked up Covid, and died. I can't believe this happened twice in just a few months, we feel like we sent our grandad to his death. I can't believe how incredibly cruel this situation is.

I’m so sorry for your losses @littlepieces. My DF is dying from covid too and we think he picked it up at an outpatient hospital appointment.

My heart is breaking for you and all other families who are impacted by this cruel illness.

I'm so sorry for your losses.

So sorry. An absolute heartbreak xxx

So sorry for your loss. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.

3 older people I know have, exactly like you said, been sent to their deaths to hospital. Isolated for months. 2 had conditions sent to hospital, 1 a fall, sent to hospital. All caught it there and all 3 died there! Thinking they were safer going and to be fixed. They would have been better off at home. Hospitals not a safe place to be anymore

It’s awful, hospitals are so unsafe, it’s an absolute disgrace. So sorry for your losses xx

@Lovelydovey I'm so sorry to hear this. It's an absolute tragedy.

OP I am sorry for your losses.

My late father worked in hospitals, infectious disease being a specialty area for him.

Infection control in hospitals has long been an issue, but the first thing I noticed, all the people I know who were hospitalised with covid, were on open bays. All the pandemic planning seems to have bern ignored and patients are exposed to higher viral load.

They pay for stunts like the Nightingale but not having proper isolation pods in hospitals - there are precious few.

I don't watch the news any more but hearing that they allow film crews in gives me the rage - a big infection control issue.

Nosocomial transmission is a major factor. My local MP is normally good at replying but has given me no response at all about this.

Also, we know that SAGE didn't understand carers work in more than one place. There's not enough actual experience on the advisory committees.

That said, Whitty will certainly know more but it's all politics and money now. The profiteering from this situation is shocking and somehow, no one seems to care.

I'm sorry for the rant, and sorry again for your losses.

So, so sorry for your loss OP

I'm sorry for your loss op, I can't imagine what you and your family are going through. My parents shielded since March and recently my dad had to go to the hospital due to kidney problems and contracted the virus there. He is battling it right now but is in a better place compared to a couple of days ago. My sister in law also contracted the virus due to miscarriage issues and the whole household has suffered after her hospital visit. It's really scary experiencing this first hand and reading your experience that people should avoid going to hospitals as it's unsafe is absolutely disgraceful.

I’m so sorry for your loss OP.

Same thing happened to my FIL and he died a couple of days before Christmas. Still struggling to come to terms with it

I am so sorry @littlepieces, that is so very sad.

Love to you and every bereaved person on this thread .

Sorry for your loss OP, a family member suffered the same fate.

Hospitalised Xmas Eve after a fall. Contracted COVID after a 2 week stay and died a week later in hospital. Over 90 but well before this.

This is in no way an NHS bash as I’m a big supporter but things have/n’t happened with his care, obviously as resources are stretched so thin. The thing I literally can’t get my head around is he was no visitors for over 2 weeks. They thought it was end of life so allowed his wife to visit and it was THEN she was notified he had COVID! How are they allowing visitors in that scenario? He hung on a few more days and 2 family members were called to visit and sit with him. He was DNR and they sat with him for 7 hours watching him gasp for breath with no oxygen support until he died. Terrible.

How they were permitted to visit and comments made about not needed to self-isolate by staff have shocked the whole family as much as the death.

Same thing with FIL. Had his second jab on 8th Jan. went into hospital last week to have a catheter fitted. After 3 days tested positive. Has now been sent home and is very ill with Covid.

I am genuinely so sorry for your loss OP (and those who've posted similar stories).

In the interests of balance, however, my stepdad is being discharged on Monday having spent most of the last nine months in various hospitals. He had a stroke but also tested Covid+ and whether as as result of complications arising from that I don't know, but eventually had to have heart surgery. He has finally come through it.

My FIL too has spent the last month in hospital (not Covid) and tested negative before coming home.

Admission to hospital isn't an automatic death sentence, though I don't want to minimise your tragic experience.

A friend of mine is a hospital dietician. Nearly all her patients are elderly. She rang me in tears the other day as each and every one of her current caseload have caught coronavirus since admission. She says that the infection control measures that were put in place with a degree of success during the first wave just arent working any more. Her hospital is full to overflowing w COVID cases anyway, which obviously doesnt help. Staff are dropping like flies too.

I had Covid in March. A lovely paramedic came out to see me and said, I could take you to hospital but you will get worse if you go". I'm in my 40s, have anxiety so the symptoms can seem exaggerated. But for a paramedic to say, stay at home, because if you go to hospital you might get worse, was quite telling.

I'm so sorry OP . My great-uncle caught Covid-19 in hospital in the first wave and sadly died of it. My grandma caught it while visiting A&E in September (non-Covid related). She hadn't wanted to go but my grandad convinced her she should in case something was really wrong. She was there seven hours and caught it from one of the nurses. The hospital later rang to apologise. She then passed it on to my grandad, but we only found out they both had it when he was admitted to hospital for something unrelated and they were tested. Thankfully they both recovered without needing medical intervention, but it was so worrying waiting to see which way it would go.

@StillGoingToWork

I had Covid in March. A lovely paramedic came out to see me and said, I could take you to hospital but you will get worse if you go". I'm in my 40s, have anxiety so the symptoms can seem exaggerated. But for a paramedic to say, stay at home, because if you go to hospital you might get worse, was quite telling.

Have to say I think that paramedic was wrong. If you’ve already got covid then you’ve already got it, it’s not going to get stronger by being in hospital. 🤷‍♀️

I could understand if someone with non covid reasons was borderline for hospital visit a paramedic saying don’t go because you might catch covid.

Dd had to go to a&e the other night and spent hours in the waiting room next to (2m) a woman who was talking on the phone to her mum saying she thought she had covid. So she had ignored all the signs saying if you think you have covid to use a different door and waiting room. I’m just hoping Dd doesn’t get it as she has loads of immune system issues.

Not sure isolation pods in bays would help, maybe a bit...but I think most of it is staff transferring it between patients. If this new strain is more transmissible it’s going to get worse.

I hate it when people say the elderly and vulnerable should isolate. They can’t isolate because they are the most likely to need essential care.

My lovely independent 95 year old nan died yesterday of covid, contracted in hospital. She died three minutes before family arrived to say goodbye, I'm broken for her. Thankfully she had her wits about her and insisted at her age she did not want treatment, just to be made comfortable.
I'm angry, angry we haven't seen her in almost a year to keep her safe (thankfully closest relative formed a bubble with her) she catches it and dies in hospital with strangers.
I'm currently pregnant, have a scan on Tuesday and I'm terrified of picking up the virus.
Big hugs to everyone experiencing this, it truely is awful.

One of my relatives caught covid in hospital which sadly killed him.

Another caught it in a nursing home and sadly it killed her too.

Same for My neighbour, had a fall, caught covid in hospital and then died. Very sorry for you OP.

So sorry for your losses OP.
Hospitals are always rife with infections, not just now unfortunately, so the Health service cannot complain it is due to current pressure.
My DM caught a hospital transmitted diseas some years agi when in for orthopaedic treatment . She eventually recovered but when she has had subsequent hospital treatment (reluctantly!) she has had to be isolated from other patients as still a carrier who could infect others.