Good to read a positive, Fester and imagine all here want the NHS to be a success but I’m afraid I have a number of negatives in our area, perhaps starting with virtual impossibilty of contacting the pharmacy (who do make mistakes with orders) attached to our GP surgery or, since their latest move to a “phone hub” in Norwich the same problem with the community nurses.
Close to home, there was a very well managed small hospital unit, I think always split between short stay rehab and longer term elderly care. It used to have good reputation but my father spent a short time there recently and we were quite disappointed with the way he came out. I know things were a bit complicated (fall, partial hip replacement then (unrelated) adhesions another op, reaction to anaesthetic and long stay with no walking in the main city hospital before transfer followed by his discharge date from the “rehab” place coming after a bank holiday weekend with no rehab staff and that dad can suffer confusion when stressed – although that was not picked up on) but we had expected someone home walking on a zimmer.
As it was, his first walk was a nightmare. A panic and a grab for the first (unfortunately low) chair and then the problem of getting him off it. I don’t have the strength (and perhaps also knowledge – one could damage an elderly and to some degree affected by a stroke arm by yanking) to lift him straight up and my mother (ironically, a physio who spent much of her later career in both Llanduno and Conwy, dealing in elderly care and I believe with the outlook as far as she was able to have people as independent as possible) isn’t that able phyically. I think we debated for an hour whether to call in Swift (a local “lifting” service) before establishing 1) that if needs must, he can pull himself up on the zimmer if I stand the other side and steady it (probably shouldn’t be done but I can keep it secure enough) and 2) that it’s a waste of time trying anything while an anxiety state exists – cup of coffee and a chat and try again is the best answer.
Things have (at least when you look backwards from were we were) have improved no end from there and my additional strength (compared to mum) is rarely needed now. A few hiccups but we both see him as getting to the tight study on his own as a goal for the future and he and we want that independence. The cynic in me would say the current climate would have happily passed him off to private services – something used here for a weekly bath but it was initially daily getting out of bed and was with (implied) no future prospects…
As for the small hospital. It was destined to become just a long stay palliative care place but the last I heard it’s going to become some sort of council supported nursing home without the remaining degree of nursing staff and with private interests. Seems to me a once excellent place, run down a bit to an inevitable conclusion...