Elderly parent released from hospital but all is not good!

[laptopcraptop]

Elderly parent had been in hospital since 1 March, having fallen twice at home in a week. Was diagnosed with UTI, slight demential but generally weak/frail. Parent was released on Thursday as too well to be in hosptial. Sibiling lives with parent and is carer. Tonight parent doesn't have strength to lift off toilet despite wall bars being fitted...sibling says he thought she was not ready to come home but felt pressured. what to do?

[JammySplodger]

I really don't know. I'd hope there's someone you could call about getting extra help / return to hospital or somewhere but I don't know who. Can you call the hospital dept who discharged her?

Will they be okay till Tuesday or is it more urgent than that?

[gingeroots]

Another one posting to say I don't know .

And of course it would be a bank holiday !

I would phone GP and get out of hours number and get parent visited at home .
or phone NHS direct .

And post in Chat for more traffic - often lots of advice there .

Good luck ,I so feel for you .

[gingeroots]

On the other hand ...I guess it might be a blip /wobble ?

Maybe parent just readjusting ?

Thinking re admission to hospital wouldn't be ideal .

but definitely get a GP/doctor to visit .

[purplewithred]

If your parent is literally unable to get off the loo and can't mobilise at all then i'd call an ambulance. If able to manage a bit but you are concerned patient will fall then I would go ooh. Otherwise i think i'd wait until Tuesday and GP. But hospital may not be the right place for her either.

[ThistleDown]

Where we live people can contact the Community Nursing Team who go out and assess. Unfortunately now when an elderly patient is declared 'medically fit' it is a race to get them home as they then become a delayed discharge which shows on the hospital statistics. Hospitals do their best to keep delayed discharges to a minimum, usual causes are thins like waiting for care home placement, increased care package, etc.

Your parent was declared medically fit and has your sibling at home so discharge would have been encouraged. Is your parent being followed up at home by community nurses (or similar)?

[Isabeller]

I help look after DP's Mum who has a dementia and has falls every so often and occasional UTIs.

Maybe ask for an urgent OT appointment? I'm not sure who you need to ask but I would try GP, hospital social worker or nurse involved in discharge and local council OT dept until someone took responsibility. If there is a local falls service I'd ring them too, I did this recently and we got some very useful and rapid help.

If there is a dementia an early diagnosis could make a lot of difference and if the dementia like symptoms are being caused by something else this is important to know. My Mum had dementia like symptoms from a UTI + morphine based painkillers, she's fully with it again now. DPs Dad had them from a brain tumour and sadly died .

DPs Mum's dementia was diagnosed while she still had the capacity to make powers of attorney and make her wishes clear and this has meant we have managed to keep her in her own home (just) as her illness progressed.

Good Luck with this x Is

[laptopcraptop]

Thank you all for your replies. Spoke to sibling yesterday and it could possibly be a blip as parent managed for a couple of days after discharge from hospital. A hosptial social worker has been lined up but not sure when they are coming. I will find out what happens today then suggest out of hours doctor I think.