Mum in hospital- cannot get any information on her condition

[Gdp57]

Hi
This is my first post so hoping someone will be able to offer some advice please. My very frail 85 year old mum fell on Wednesday morning, cutting her arm which looked like it might need attention. She was taken by ambulance to A & E. I was not allowed into the hospital with her (Covid restrictions). We heard nothing all day (she can’t use a mobile) and eventually, mid evening, we managed to speak to a doctor there to be told that they were concerned about Mum as her haemoglobin levels were low and her ‘inflammation indicators’ were high. They had already done a CT/MRI scan which hadn’t shown signs of internal bleeding They were about to do a blood transfusion and would be doing a chest X-ray the following day which might then lead to further scans/tests. She was admitted to wait for a bed to become available on a ward and eventually transferred to a cardiac ward. Since then, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to find out anything about what the tests show and what they believe is wrong with her, other than, for some reason she didn’t get taken for a chest X-ray. Apparently they are monitoring her heart and she will probably be referred to a cardiac clinic as an outpatient. Nothing whatsoever said about why her bloods were abnormal. I just don’t know where to go from here - surely as her carer we should be told what is going on and what the diagnosis is? She is very deaf and almost blind and would struggle to take in/hear anything that was said to her and be unable to pass the information on to us. How do we deal with this - can we request an appointment (by telephone) with a doctor? I would be very grateful for any advice as we are all so worried and frustrated by this.
Thank you x

It sounds to me as though they are monitoring her and awaiting test results.

What was the update when you rang this morning?

Do you have POA? I would have thought that you could request a telephone call with her consultant in that case.

I was in a similar situation with my mum a few months ago. Admitted as an emergency, no mobile on her and a nightmare to get through to the ward on the phone when she was finally admitted.

Turned out to be severe anemia which caused her to have heart palpitations so she had lots of blood tests & a chest x-ray. She had a blood transfusion and iron infusion before being released.

You don't need to have POA to speak to the medical team. I would wait until Monday and phone the ward and ask if one of the medics can phone you. If no joy this way phone the Consultant's secretary. PALS would be your plan C. I'm a doctor and very happy to speak to family on the phone. We are all very aware of how difficult COVID-19 is making it for relatives

I suggested waiting until Monday as you will then speak to a member of her medical team, rather than the on call doctor. However given you seem to have limited information about your mum , it might be worth phoning the ward and asking if you could or need to speak to someone before then. No one will mind.

This sounds very similar to my Mum’s case, including the heart symptoms. She has B12 injections at home but the last one had been missed as the district nurse had ‘run out of supplies’ She also has a badly infected ulcer on her leg (maybe causing the inflammatory markers to be raised?). Did they ever tell you what was causing your Mum’s anaemia? I hope she’s recovering well now?

Thank you for the advice. I feel more confident now about asking the nursing staff to arrange a phone call with the doctor, I know Mum is old and generally unwell but we just want to know what we’re dealing with. In normal times, of course, it would be so much easier to grab someone on the ward and insist on being told what is going on!

You don't need to have POA to speak to the medical team... but if the patient has capacity the medical team does need their consent to tell you anything. (Also a doctor happy to talk on the phone so long as the the patient's happy)

@Gdp57

This sounds very similar to my Mum’s case, including the heart symptoms. She has B12 injections at home but the last one had been missed as the district nurse had ‘run out of supplies’ She also has a badly infected ulcer on her leg (maybe causing the inflammatory markers to be raised?). Did they ever tell you what was causing your Mum’s anaemia? I hope she’s recovering well now?

Yes, unfortunately it's chronic kidney disease. One of them is failing but she's burying her head in the sand over it staying upbeat. She is on the waiting list for a scan to see how bad it is but for the moment she's recovered.

Hi OP.

I'm in a similar situation as my elderly aunt (87, very close) has been in hospital for almost two months.

You need to find somebody who you can try to speak to most of the time, so that it's not just a string of strangers who don't know you or your mum. We've found the Ward Manager to be the best bet.

Ask the Ward Manager to arrange for you to speak to your mum's consultant, if possible.

It would be very helpful for you to have Lasting Power of Attorney for Health & Welfare, if you've not already got it.

Finally, if you're worrying that your mum is deteriorating (as my aunt has) simply by being stuck in a strange and frightening environment without her family then speak to the Ward Manager and ask for permission to visit. You could suggest that you'll go in to feed your mum. We've been granted that permission. I think many families don't ask.

@Greybeardy

You don't need to have POA to speak to the medical team... but if the patient has capacity the medical team does need their consent to tell you anything. (Also a doctor happy to talk on the phone so long as the the patient's happy)

Yes of course and would assume that the doctor in question would confirm this. Was simply responding to the earlier comment about POA.

Hi
Thank you so much for your advice. We have managed to find out a little more on her condition over the weekend and have been advised to call today when the doctors are doing their rounds and either speak to a doctor then or arrange a time later in the day. She is on a cardiac ward being monitored as her heartbeat is slow. They have withdrawn one of the two drugs she has been taking for AF as apparently that can slow the heart too much? She will need to come back at a later date as an outpatient for an endoscopy. Not sure why they can’t do that now?

So glad you've had some more information. Did you manage to speak to anyone today?

There's probably a massive waiting list for an endoscopy. My mum is down for one of those too but was told that if she waited on the ward it would be several weeks.