Ive seen commercials about elder abuse & neglect put on by the Government of Canada. You want to talk about elder abuse in our society? Lets talk about elder abuse. Its not just about physical abuse, it could be financial, and it could be neglect... What I have seen first hand over the last 3 days in our own hospitals would disgust you. My father, who will be turning 78 years old tomorrow, whom is 6 1 and is 104lbs, is currently being held in the Sackville Memorial Hospital, in New Brunswick. He was admitted on Wednesday, July 2nd, and will be there for at least another week. I only learned he was admitted on Friday, July 4th, so naturally, I went to visit him. I live about 45 minutes away. The first thing I noticed was the smell of death that hits you in the face as soon as those sliding doors open. I have never noticed such a stench from this hospital before as Ive been there many times. Second, as Im having a conversation with my father, he mentions he tried to make a cup of tea for himself, and the smell that came from the plastic cup made him literally sick to his stomach, he ended up throwing it up. The next meal that they brought to him, he handed myself and my brother the cup so we could smell it. Yep! Sure enough, there was a foul odor coming from it. So I brought him a clean mug from my house on my next visit. During this same visit I notice he has an IV hooked up to his arm, but the saline drip is not attached. Not uncommon, just in case they need to provide him with more medication at a later time. My father also mentions the state of the bathroom. So, I peek inside. (Note the pictures below) The floor around the toilet looks as though it has been damaged by a flood and not repaired. It is also visibly black with what looks like, mold. The floor under the sink was wet from the pipe dripping and created a stream of water reaching the door. Can we say: safety hazard? 99% of the people being held in this wing are seniors whom have a hard time getting around, not to mention slipping in a puddle of water. Good thing youre in a hospital! Oh wait! That brings me to my next point. As I walk into the wing on my second visit (Saturday), I walk past a room where there is an elderly lady yelling for help. I get down to the reception area, which is only about 4 rooms down, and ask the lady if my father is still in the same room Oh and by the way, there is a lady down the hall yelling for help. She sighs, gets up from her table, and waltzs down the hall. Oh, please excuse me for interrupting your computer solitaire game, it was clearly more important than your patients. Monday, I get a voice-mail while Im at work. A lady asking if I can take my father to an appointment in Moncton on Tuesday morning. I asked if there was any other way to get him up here since I have to work. Unfortunately, there is another patient who is booked with the ambulance so if I do not come get him, he will miss his appointment. Ok. No big deal. My manager was good enough to switch my shifts around. Were good to go. - On a side note, I later found out that my father was bathed twice Monday evening, and almost a third. Looks as though they want him to be squeaky clean for his appointment tomorrow when hes being looked over by a different hospital. Tuesday morning comes, I pick my father up, find out which hospital were going to because I was not informed of anything... and we head to Moncton. The appointment was a little late taking him in but as we were leaving, my father couldnt stop talking about how awesome the nurses were. (Thank you to the lovely nurses of the Moncton hospital! You made his day.) Now heres where it gets good. The Moncton nurses removed my fathers IV from his arm (remember the previous IV?) because this type of IV is supposed to be removed within 3 days of insertion. Mind you, we are now on day 7. The Moncton nurse was dumbfounded. And while hes awaiting his appointment, they also pumped him full of saline because he is severely dehydrated. Dehydrated. Hes been in the Sackville hospital for a week now and hes dehydrated?? So after all, I take him out to lunch and back to my house for the afternoon where he wanted to take a nap. I fed him supper and drove him back to Sackville. Oh was there ever a fuss when I got him back! There you are! Where were you?! So I told them I had him at my place after his appointment. Two nurses start going off about how they didnt have a number to reach me and had no idea where he was. Well, my father was signed out this morning when we took him to his appointment to absolve any responsibility of the hospital. Fair enough. But I was not informed of where his appointment was let alone when he was supposed to be back. Did you just mention you didnt have a contact number for me? You mean the same number you called me at yesterday when asking if I could take him to his appointment? Or do you mean the number that a nurse wrote on a hospital card and attached it to his medical file that you sent with us this morning? Ya. You did have it. Nice try. This little fiasco upset my father, so I took him back to his room. Kissed him goodbye and made my way back to desk. Me: I was not informed of where his appointment even was until when I picked him up this morning, let alone when he was supposed to be back. Second, that IV in his arm was supposed to be removed THREE days after it was inserted. Nurse: Well just so you know next time to bring him back earlier. And the Moncton hospital removed his IV Me: Ya. They did. But it was supposed to removed after 3 days. We are now on day 7 Nurse: Well...... - Kinda shrugs her shoulders. Me: Oh and one more thing. Hes severely dehydrated. Even the nurses in Moncton made that clear. They pumped him full of saline while he was awaiting his appointment. He hasnt been hooked up to anything here since I started visiting him 5 days ago. Maybe you should keep an eye on that. Nurse: Well if his family doctor gives the order then we will fulfill that. Me: Pretty sure your position as an RN gives you the ability to give someone water. Have a wonderful evening! Lets talk about elder abuse. #Elderabuse #Neglect #SackvilleMemorialHospital #Monctonhospital
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 23:43:39 +0000
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