Sliding Doors (or the ins and outs of the NHS)
There's two ways my day could have gone today.
I could have turned up at my mother's house about 9:30am to find her STANDING stranded in the bathroom clinging to her grab rail complaining her legs were numb.
I could have taken one look at her.
Decided she didn't look a very good colour.
Realised that she seemed to be having trouble actually sending the message to her legs to achieve walking.
Phoned for an ambulance (On the grounds that if I rang her GP's out of hours service I'd be waiting at least an hour for a doctor to show up and that would still leave me with her unable to get out of the bathroom and back to her bedroom, and that even if the ambulance men didn't think she needed to be admitted they would help me get from said bathroom to her bed.)
Having phoned for an ambulance the nice boys in green could have taken observations, (BP some 2 digit number over another 2 digit number), waited a while and then taken more observations (BP some 3 digit number over a 2 digit number (woohoo)).
And then we could have made an
The information for the decision goes like this.
Ambulance man #1: If we take her to A&E now she'll be sitting there all day. Has she seen her GP or did you call us first? (There was a vague whiff of admonishment in his tone but I ignore it because I have much admiration and respect for the Emergency Service peeps (and, we all know they get some really DODGY call outs.)
Me: Well you first as GP out of hours will take FOREVAR and I knew I was going to need help moving her anyway.
Ambulance man #2: You know if we leave her here and call the GP he HAS TO COME OUT WITHIN AN HOUR?
Me: I did not.
Ambulance man #1: And if we do that and the GP decides she needs to be admitted she'll go in by ambulance and bypass that long wait in A&E and go straight to MASU (whatever)?
Me: This I DO know :D (It's what happens to sister).
Have we all been folowing along? (There may be questions at the end.)
Of course the alternative to that is that someone (mother) can try and be helpful and make her own
The ill informed decision goes like this:
Mother: What are you all saying?
Ambulance man #2: We were just deciding what to do with you dear.
Mother: Really?
Me: Yes, really.
Mother: Well I think I'd better go to hospital, don't you?
Ambulance man #1: Are you sure?
Mother (nodding): Oh yes, I think it would be for the best, I don't feel at all well.
Now, I don't know about elsewhere in the world (Or even in this country) but the patient saying they want to go to hospital, in my county, is kind of a genie out of the bottle moment. Once it has been said, it cannot be unsaid and the ambulance people HAVE TO TAKE THEM.
This lead to me and mother being in A&E for 5+ hours, and blood work, and waiting for her to pee (sorry TMI?) and NO food for either of us until about 3pm. And then nearly 2 hours in the short stay ward where they assessed whether she was actually fit enough to be allowed home and whether her home was suitable for her to be sent back to.
And us finally getting back to her house (courtesy of husband doing an hour long trip from our house to her house - for her wheelchair - to the hospital to fetch us both) at around 6:30pm, after leaving it at about 10:30am.
*is tired*
Also? I owe my mother's neighbour at #5 a bunch of flowers or something, as she not only took my dog into her house (because it was very hot here and he has a nasty habit of sunbathing and I didn't want to come back to overheated/possibly expired dog) but took him on a huge walk with her children this afternoon.
And it's now something past 8pm and my brother is on his way over to sleep at her house tonight so she is not alone - even though I'm pretty sure she'd be okay. And I am going to finally GO back to my house!
See you all tomorrow folks!
I could have turned up at my mother's house about 9:30am to find her STANDING stranded in the bathroom clinging to her grab rail complaining her legs were numb.
I could have taken one look at her.
Decided she didn't look a very good colour.
Realised that she seemed to be having trouble actually sending the message to her legs to achieve walking.
Phoned for an ambulance (On the grounds that if I rang her GP's out of hours service I'd be waiting at least an hour for a doctor to show up and that would still leave me with her unable to get out of the bathroom and back to her bedroom, and that even if the ambulance men didn't think she needed to be admitted they would help me get from said bathroom to her bed.)
Having phoned for an ambulance the nice boys in green could have taken observations, (BP some 2 digit number over another 2 digit number), waited a while and then taken more observations (BP some 3 digit number over a 2 digit number (woohoo)).
And then we could have made an
The information for the decision goes like this.
Ambulance man #1: If we take her to A&E now she'll be sitting there all day. Has she seen her GP or did you call us first? (There was a vague whiff of admonishment in his tone but I ignore it because I have much admiration and respect for the Emergency Service peeps (and, we all know they get some really DODGY call outs.)
Me: Well you first as GP out of hours will take FOREVAR and I knew I was going to need help moving her anyway.
Ambulance man #2: You know if we leave her here and call the GP he HAS TO COME OUT WITHIN AN HOUR?
Me: I did not.
Ambulance man #1: And if we do that and the GP decides she needs to be admitted she'll go in by ambulance and bypass that long wait in A&E and go straight to MASU (whatever)?
Me: This I DO know :D (It's what happens to sister).
Have we all been folowing along? (There may be questions at the end.)
Of course the alternative to that is that someone (mother) can try and be helpful and make her own
The ill informed decision goes like this:
Mother: What are you all saying?
Ambulance man #2: We were just deciding what to do with you dear.
Mother: Really?
Me: Yes, really.
Mother: Well I think I'd better go to hospital, don't you?
Ambulance man #1: Are you sure?
Mother (nodding): Oh yes, I think it would be for the best, I don't feel at all well.
Now, I don't know about elsewhere in the world (Or even in this country) but the patient saying they want to go to hospital, in my county, is kind of a genie out of the bottle moment. Once it has been said, it cannot be unsaid and the ambulance people HAVE TO TAKE THEM.
This lead to me and mother being in A&E for 5+ hours, and blood work, and waiting for her to pee (sorry TMI?) and NO food for either of us until about 3pm. And then nearly 2 hours in the short stay ward where they assessed whether she was actually fit enough to be allowed home and whether her home was suitable for her to be sent back to.
And us finally getting back to her house (courtesy of husband doing an hour long trip from our house to her house - for her wheelchair - to the hospital to fetch us both) at around 6:30pm, after leaving it at about 10:30am.
*is tired*
Also? I owe my mother's neighbour at #5 a bunch of flowers or something, as she not only took my dog into her house (because it was very hot here and he has a nasty habit of sunbathing and I didn't want to come back to overheated/possibly expired dog) but took him on a huge walk with her children this afternoon.
And it's now something past 8pm and my brother is on his way over to sleep at her house tonight so she is not alone - even though I'm pretty sure she'd be okay. And I am going to finally GO back to my house!
See you all tomorrow folks!