Rapid Response Team’s response

Specific disabilities and conditions
1

My 92 year old FIL, who is frail and suffers from dementia, was referred to the Rapid Response team after a fall in the street that required ambulance response. This team works exclusively with the frail elderly to help maintain independence and to minimise risk of falls. Used to be called the Falls Team. So I thought bingo!

A few weeks went by and I just happened to be visiting when a letter arrived. It said that they had tried to contact him by phone with no success and that he should call this number to arrange a mobility assessment and that if they did not hear from him within 7 days they would discharge him from their service!

I checked his phone records on his Trucall unit - a great machine that records all calls even those that aren’t connected and there were no unrecognised numbers! My mobile is the other contact no. On his Gp notes but no calls on that either. He would not have been able to deal with letter himself or remember to tell me about it, so would just have been discharged if I hadn’t caught it.

This service only exists to help the frail elderly so you would think they would have a more robust referral system!

The mobility assessment was carried out by a physiotherapist who brought a rollator with a seat which he issued with the stern warning - “it’s really important that you REMEMBER to put the break on before you sit on it or you’ll go for a toss”!!


I’m left wondering if they know was dementia is. Is it just me or is this crazy ?.. :whistle: :dry: :-???

2

It would make more sense to contact a relative but often they don’t.

And yes they often do that if not hear from, if you don’t turn up we will discharge you, they are not dealing with fit healthy people.

They are dealing with often elderly/disabled who don’t answer the phone, might be in bed ill or not very good at paperwork.

One of my carees booked in for respite turned up in a wheelchair, oh we didn’t know you were in a wheelchair, its not rocket science, a lot of disabled people are in wheelchairs.

They just don’t know, just a name or a number, you would have thought they could use codes for disabilities but they don’t.

Too many times i have taken people severely disabled to scans right we need you to lie in this big machine here, I can’t get out my wheelchair , oh what do we do now? nurses are not allowed to lift, luckily i could help lift onto the bed/platform.

They just expect fit healthy people to use the NHS not ill and disabled ones.

3

Londonbound you are so right!! I spoke to his Gp on the phone thinking he might possibly have a UTI as he was more confused than normal. She said “We are not seeing I’ll people at the moment” :laughing: