I refer to my mum in law as mum, she is 90 years this week, and she lives alone in London with carers visiting with minimum time three times a day . The care company has been an issue for sometime with standards and routines being poor and unhygienic . We as a family started to source our own carer as this company had been supplied by social services after numerous spells in a London hospital .
Mum became ill about three weeks ago and an ambulance was called through 999 and they took her to hospital A day later I had a call from the hospital advising she had contracted Covid 19 … and this where the story begins … My first concern was to contact the care company, as I believe this infection came from their carers as it would appear mum had so many different carers coming and going without masks at that time, and mum is house bound anyway and the carers could be spreading the virus to other elderly persons who they visit . I tried to contact them and warn them of the incident by phone, email and their emergency support number but no matter when I rang, no one answered the phones . Eventually after 4 DAYS of trying I spoke with someone and they confirmed that had received my email and would call me back by return ( I am the power of attorney for care and welfare ) so they have all my details to hand …that call never came??
We ourselves are overseas at the moment under full lockdown with no flights to or from the Uk so we are here for maybe months so cannot be by mums side.I also just had heart surgery here due to stress and artery restrictions, I already have three stents.
In the interim I had another call asking if mum deteriorated they said it would be unfair to try and resuscitate her as this may cause her further distress and pain and may damage her chest . I agreed with this and then just waited .
We called in from overseas regularly to ask of mums progress and were happy to hear she was responding to the antibiotics and doing well, this continued to the second week where we were told she was eating well and drinking, sitting in a chair and joking with staff, and this seemed to be the messages we got when we telephoned in to the ward . On one occasion I pressed for more info, only to be told …discuss this with other members of the family and the phone was put down . We put this down that perhaps the nurse was under pressure so we left it at that .
Three weeks passed and the next call was from social services who advised mum was fit and well and due for discharge … The previous company had stated to them they were no longer to offer care and was given the name of another company who could and was given all the details on a Sunday afternoon …I was taking these calls whilst in hospital .I asked if they could give me 48 hours to get someone to go to the house to turn on the heating and get some food in .
Monday came and another call came from another person at social services advising that mum was due to come out That afternoon and that the previous company mentioned on Sunday had now stated they couldn’t care for mum and this was mis information .
I stated that this was not enough notice as nothing was prepared at home and was unfair this had been dropped on me being 1500 miles away and also in hospital after surgery and requested this be put back for at least 24 hours .
Social services stated this was not possible and mum WAS coming out shortly that afternoon . I asked could they at least ensure a carer be there to meet her home , this was declined as she couldn’t guarantee that anyone would attend until the evening . Stressed, I made a frantic call to my sister in law who lives the other side of London who also is recovering from a full knee replacement operation . I don’t know how she got to mums home but she did but in pure pain and distress .Mum arrived by ambulance and my sister in law was shocked as to the condition of mum . She couldn’t walk, stand, in constant pain but she was just put dumped in a chair in the lounge and left .
A carer did arrive but it was evident she could not help mum out of the chair even with the help of my sister in law … but said she would be back to help mum into bed ( we assumed she was getting more help ) .That help or carer never came and mum had to sit in the chair in the doorway all night
The next day the same carer turned up and my sister in law berated her as to why she didn’t return? The reply was this wasn’t really her job and had extra work elsewhere to attend to …in the interim a physiotherapist turned up from the hospital and saw the condition of mum and her distress and she was that appalled dialled 999 but had to leave due to her workload …an ambulance turned up to assess mum and they agreed she was not in good health but was reluctant to return mum to hospital again due to the Covid 19 pressures , so they decided to move her from the chair to the bedroom , mum had soiled herself and it took two burley ambulance man to get her to the bed . Once there, I was again on the phone at the time when this all happened I asked them to look at mums feet which were black swollen and feet badly cracked and in obvious pain I also gave them the background to mums medical history which involves congenital heart failure asthma , and mobility issues AND DEMENTIA and there she lay ?
The carer was unable to change mum because she couldn’t move her neither could my sister in law either so at this stage we were in a real bad situation
In the meantime I had complained bitterly to social services and the hospital in discharging mum in such a poor state of health AND social services in their neglect of care and breakdown of care which in reality was a derelict of care and duty and not fit for purpose .I also forwarded this complaint to the hospital .
The following day mum was still laying in bed , in pain and wet from incontinence . By chance ( whether this was because of my complaints) a rehabilitation doctor came from the same hospital to ascertain what actually what was going on and to see Mum himself , when he did so HE rang 999 and an ambulance team as he felt mum had just been left in bed at the hospital with no other treatment and this was his words not ours. turned up again and assessed mum again . They concluded mum had a high temperature, low capacity in her left lung, and a chest infection Again I was able to speak with them by phone again giving details of mums medical history . They immediately took mum back to hospital
Several hours past and I had a call by a doctor from the hospital to get the story of what had gone on and said they would be in touch again . A few hours later I took another call from the doctor saying all the tests have been done and she was ok but she would be kept into hospital for further support for physio therapy .
Who are we to believe now …??
This type of non care has been an ongoing issue for the last year or more with no help from her local Gp that is a stones through from the house . I have been to the surgery personally myself to get GPs just to check mum …but they rarely attend and then offer ridiculous solutions that gas no bearing on her health issues …when I took over the role of health and welfare I found at least EIGHT carrier bags full of drugs mostly Tramadol and other high opiate drugs . I complained bitterly and returned all these bags back to a chemist for destruction . I got meds put into dossettec boxes on a weekly basis only but then found mum was hiding the meds rather than taking them …and so it goes on…we are all exhausted …mum is now still in hospital and have told the hospital we are at our tether and unable to give mum the care she rightly deserves and we have decided that mum will have to go into home care this is not ideal we know but we now need specialist help with not only her care but also for her dementia as she tells everyone we are trying to kill her and waiting for her to die …and that the clothes she wears and wheelchair are being stolen or exchanged for older wheelchairs … I explained this all by ringing from where we are to a UK radio station but was told that even in good times it’s hard to find reliable care .
I also raised the issue that mum should have had the care and protection from the first care company rather than transmitting Covid 19 to her, yet we are still being pursued by mums local council for £2000 for a service that is not only not fit for purpose , but could indeed cost her her life …IS THIS FAIR !!!
I want to pursue the complaint and take legal action as someone must have known mum was unstable and unfit to be discharged and also social services for neglect of duty and care and putting a 9o year old health and welfare at risk … Have I done everything, and is there anything else I can/ should do in this appalling situation …any valid suggestions welcome please.