Category Archives: hospital

The doctor and nurses putting lives at risk because they can’t speak English

March 31, 2012   Carers, health, hospital, Older care

Growing numbers of the NHS’s medical and nursing staff come from overseas, and their English is so poor they cannot communicate effectively with patients

 

By John Naish

When Jan Middleton woke in her hospital bed at 2am, she feared immediately that her life was in grave danger.

She had already undergone an operation to remove a brain tumour but had been readmitted after developing a serious post-surgical infection.

So when she woke in the middle of the night to discover the infection had spread, causing new lesions to open up on her face, Ms Middleton, 54, realised she needed help quickly.

‘It was terrifying, and made worse by the fact that I had been told the brain infection put me at a high risk of meningitis and stroke,’ she says.

‘I told the nurse, an Asian lady, that she needed to call the on-duty doctor straight away.

‘But her English was extremely poor. She kept repeating, “What you saying to me? I don’t understand. Your English not good.” ’

After trying for half an hour to get through to the nurse, Ms Middleton was exhausted — and very scared.

In desperation, she pulled out her mobile phone to dial 999 for help.

‘I was on the tenth floor of the hospital. I couldn’t get down to A&E on the ground floor on my own,’ she explained.

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How can health and social care be encouraged to integrate?

March 27, 2012   Carers, health, hospital

In light of the government’s health and social care reforms, will services of the future offer older people a better deal?

 

Older people account for 75% of NHS activity, so it is vital that healthcare reforms are tailored to their needs.

Older people are the biggest users of the NHS, accounting for 75% of activity. They occupy 60% of hospital beds, according to figures from the charity Age UK, and it is estimated that their health and social care needs alone account for most of the £70bn spent each year on patients with long-term conditions.

With the number of people aged over 85 expected to double in the next 25 years, it is crucial that the NHS of the future has the capacity to cope with the increased demands that this group of patients will bring. But do the planned changes for England outlined in the government’s health and social care reforms offer older people the prospect of improved services in the new-look NHS? And will the reforms produce a more integrated health and social care landscape, which encourages more holistic and seamless care for these elderly and vulnerable patients?

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Carers delighted by company help

March 24, 2012   Carers, family, hospital, Older care

The Home from Hospital scheme, run by the Carers’ Resource charity, has won sponsorship

9:50am Saturday 24th March 2012 in News By Alistair Shand

A project that helps elderly people living alone to return home after a spell in Airedale Hospital has been safeguarded.

The Home from Hospital scheme, run by the Carers’ Resource charity, has won sponsorship from Skipton-based Comply Direct after a lack of funding had put the initiative at risk.

But the charity warns that without similar support from others, the long-term existence of the project may be unsure. The venture aims to make people’s transition back home following discharge from hospital as smooth as possible.

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