My elderly dad is chronically ill and disabled and in the last 18 months he’s been in and out of hospital but often with relatively small issues, like needing fluid drained or IV antibiotics. As he’s quite frail, and his BP runs very low due to heart failure, they nearly always admit him and he often then picks up a new infection. When he is fit to go home, then usually have to fight to get him quickly reassessed for his state funded care package (it lapses after 5 days in hospital)
On top of that I’ve been advocating for him to get a review of his drugs, get regular physio, support him hopefully to move into supported living and to get the GP to take us seriously about the many infections he’s picking him up. I’m grateful for the care he has received but wow sometimes it’s been utterly exhausting.
But then one day a few months ago the community matron service entered our lives. Firstly I didn’t know there was such a thing - not until dad got a letter to say he’d been referred to them. This woman is an absolute marvel. She went to see my dad and got his permission to speak to me. She’s a band 8 nurse (as is her team), they can prescribe some medicines, act as an advocate, set up hospital appointments, deal with social services and basically cut through all the red tape and bureaucracy I’ve been dealing with. She’s even got the GP to finally listen to us which is extraordinary in itself.
I don’t know who made the referral but I’m just mentioning this in case anyone is in a similar situation and doesn’t know this service exists. I assume it’s nationwide (if not, it absolutely should be) but apparently the aim is to keep people like my dad out of hospital unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you’re in the same situation, worth looking into whether your area has this service too.