Care home AIBU

[LindorDoubleChoc]

I need to sort out in my mind what is reasonable and what is not reasonable in these circumstances with my Mum and her care home.

She's only been there a short while. She rang on Christmas morning to say that's she's had a recurrence of cellulitis in her legs (had it a few times over the last 15 years) but was being looked after. I visited on Boxing Day and she was ok, up and out of bed and on oral antibiotics. But she very obviously to me also had some sort of chest infection but the nurse who I saw while I was there said the oral antibiotics were helping with the cellulitis and would protect against anything bacterial getting into her chest.

The next day when she was woken up in the morning, her oxygen sats were very low and paramedics were called. The paramedics said she had to go in to hospital. She was not blue-lighted in, she went in at about 10am (having got up at 7am) and was taken to A&E and ended up being admitted to a ward that evening.

My AIBU with the care home is that she was sent in to hospital without her glasses (which she wears all the time), her hearing aids, her mobile phone and charger, her incontinence pants, any clothes other than the night dress she was wearing.

I stress - it was not an immediate rush. It would have taken 5 minutes to think of these essentials and put them in a bag for her.

So it meant my brother who went to visit her in hospital today, first had to go to the care home to collect all these essentials for her.

Would you think it reasonable to think the care home should have been a bit more across this? Care home is luxury, private and £1500 per week if that is relevant - but I would expect any care home to be a bit more on the ball for a patient being admitted to hospital!

Sorry it's long!

Yes they didn’t think, to remember basic stuff, tell them

I think they could have done much better, clearly they should be used to despatching patients to hospital. However, I would totally have expected to go via care home to pick up something.

They absolutely should have packed her a bag for a planned admission. It's very poor practice.

I would expect them to ask her what she needed and pack it for her.

if she's not able to say, then they could have called you and asked what she might need, surely. Seems poor to me but I don't have experience.

As above. Poor from the paramedics too (paramedic family here).

Definitely poor behaviour on their part.

Yes, that is very poor of them. I definitely would not expect to have to have family pick stuff up for her. What if family lived many hours away, or there was no family?

Maybe have a small bag packed with essentials as a ‘just in case’ measure for the future. With a list taped of what to add- glasses, medication etc.
I have never worked in a care home but I imagine that would be a busy time getting everyone up, toileted and dressed, along with medications.

Definitely remiss on their part. My mother was taken from care home to hospital after breaking hip in the summer. I met her at a&e, she was waiting in ambulance. The paramedics had her bag from care home with phone plus charger, packet of incontinence pads, clean nightie, book, magazine etc. Also had paperwork from carehome with her medical notes and list of medication.
although the hospital provides incontinence stuff and they lost the medical notes in a&e!

Shocking to send her without glasses and hearing aids.

Complain.

You will have to be careful she doesn’t loose her hearing aids in hospital, this is a common moan from relatives.