Have we stopped listening to older people?

The headline in The Guardian on Tuesday 13^th February said,

      “Francis Report shows we have stopped listening to older people.”

The Francis Report, published on 6^th February 2013, sets out 290 recommendations for improvements in the NHS. This was in response to the neglect and unacceptably high death rate in the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust hospitals.

One of those recommendations is that there needs to be more of a culture of care in the nursing profession.

I wonder how many experts it took to come to that conclusion. I hate to repeat myself but two years ago I was screaming - literally screaming because my Mum was being neglected! I was screaming about the fact that nurses in charge of caring for my mother, were not caring. From where I was sitting, standing or pacing up and down, they were not rushing around caring for other patients either. They were propping up their work station, chatting, drinking coffee, or they were nowhere to be seen. I accept that this was only one ward in a huge hospital but I saw it happening again and again and it infuriated me.

I blogged about my series of official complaints two years ago. I even got as far as two telephone interviews with the Chief Executive of the local NHS Trust. He had the grace to be shocked by my revelations, or perhaps this wasn’t grace. Perhaps it was political distancing. Was his reaction a part of the culture of fear highlighted in the Francis Report?

• Let us stop, as a nation, being afraid to complain.

• Let us start, as human beings, to listen sympathetically to the needs of others.

• Let us hope that if we witness such neglect in the future, we can report it in the confident knowledge that there will be no repercussions on us or on our elderly, hospitalised relatives and that someone will listen, someone will care and someone will do something about it.

[I shall now step off my soap box and stop shouting... for the time being.]

From Blog to BBC TV News Appearance

The other day a TV camera crew came to our house... well it was actually one TV cameraman with his portable camera but it was quite an experience nevertheless. We did light checks and sound checks and, with a little soft lighting, he converted our living room into a desirable bijou residence. I began the interview in a stilted manner, very conscious of what I was saying, but by the time we reached the part that they actually used I had warmed to my argument and was in full flow. The man knew how to do his job. I was delivering sound bites to fight for.

I’ve included a link to the BBC TV news programme but in case that is no longer available I’ve taken a photograph to show you what I look like when I’m in full flow.

There’s also a photo of the TV cameraman himself. He was taking shots of letters and photographs just in case they might be needed. In total he took 18 minutes of film although the piece they used was only a fraction of that.

Progress is moving along slowly. 6,500 nurses and healthcare workers will receive a nursing care refresher course. You can read about that in this newspaper article from the Leicester Mercury. I was taken onto Ward 2 at the Leicester General Hospital last Friday and shown the changes that had already been introduced regarding raising the profile of the nurse in charge – the big red badge scheme - and making hourly checks on all patients. And there’s a meeting next Tuesday at Leicester’s Town Hall to further discuss the issues regarding hospital complaints. I’ll be there and, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, I’ll be blogging about it.

Had it not been for this blog I doubt my complaint letter would have got anywhere near this far. I was demanding that changes be seen to be made but the hospital had merely sent a standard acknowledgement offering me a written report within 25 working days. A written report was not going to get changes either made or seen to be made. Nobody was really listening to me. Then I remembered The Leicester Mercury. They had picked up my blog postings before for their First Person feature and, as I anticipated, they were very interested to take up this issue. Once they were on board my complaint grew wings... and now it’s well and truly flying.

So if anyone tells you that keeping a blog never leads to anything worthwhile, don’t believe them.

People are Frightened of Complaining

They say that the British are bad at complaining. We’d rather sip at cold soup than ask the waiter to return it to the kitchen, but when it comes to our health care we should be able to speak out. Since I sent a letter of complaint to the Leicester General Hospital about the negligence of my mother I have been amazed by people’s responses.

Many comments were along the lines of, 

“You are brave. When something similar happened to my mum I didn’t dare complain.”

Some said things like, 

“I do admire you. I was so exhausted by the experience I didn’t have the energy to complain.”

Others have made less encouraging comments like, 

“Well done for putting your head above the parapet but rather you than me.”

I don’t often feel passionate enough about an issue to raise my head quite this high but care of the frail elderly is one issue that I can’t ignore.

Readers of my blog will know that over the last few years I have, unfortunately, become a regular visitor of the Leicester Royal Infirmary, especially the Osborne Building. I have always been impressed by their high standards, particularly in the Bone Marrow Unit and the Haematology Wards. But seeing these areas of excellence has shown me that hospital wards can work and has further highlighted the low standards of care experienced by my mother at the Leicester General Hospital.

So has putting my head above the parapet done any good? I hope so. I have had several meetings with members of the Leicester NHS Trust, including Malcolm Lowe-Lauri, the Chief Executive, and what’s more they’ve listened to me and they’ve taken on board the two issues where I felt my input could make a difference.

To ensure that on each shift there is an easily identifiable nurse-in-charge working alongside the ward team.

To ensure that the hospitals’ complaints procedures are easily accessible and fear-free.

The first item has already been addressed. The Trust has initiated a big red Nurse in Charge badge to be worn by the Nurse in Charge of each shift. They have instigated daily Matron ward rounds at visiting times to ensure visitors and patients see the Matron and this is also expected of the Nurse in Charge.

The second item is not so easy. I’m still unclear about the difference between PALS and PILS but apparently PILS is the department to approach with complaints about Leicester hospitals. It stands for Patient Information Liaison Service and has a Freephone number 08081 788337.

I’ve also had a meeting this week with my local councillor, Andy Bayford, who is Chair of the Leicester Health Scrutiny Committee. (Yes, I have been very busy!) Cllr Bayford has promised to include the issue of hospital complaints on the agenda of his next Health Scrutiny Committee Meeting and I’ll be there to listen to the discussion.

But the big problem of fear still exists and I do understand why. I was harassed by the nurses the day after I made my first formal complaint, but my mother was hungry and dirty. I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Malcolm Lowe-Lauri has made a pledge to address this fear. I hope he’s successful.

We all have a basic right to complain. We should be insisting on zero tolerance to neglect in hospitals because if everyone who is affected complains, then together we will make a difference.