I'm new to this forum but hoping that you may be able to offer some advice and support. I apologize if this is a lengthy post but bear with me.
Mt 91 year old dad was admitted to hospital a week ago - suspected fractured rib after a fall. After a day in A&E and tests where they discovered that there was no fracture but diagnosed him as having pneumonia, he spent 2 days in acute care and was then transferred to a general ward (which looks to be a general dumping ground for the elderly). He was until 2 days ago on an IV antibiotic drip with nasal oxygen tube. My mother has not left his side for the entire time, checking on his treatment, feeding him and ensuring he has fluids.
As my mum and I have Lasting PoA for my dad's health, I received a call from one of the hospital doctors a week ago asking generally about my dad's general status prior to admittance and confirmed what my mum would already have told them, that in the 10 years since his heat attack he has been absolutely fine, active and regularly checked by the cardiac nursing team - apart from age and expected frailty there has been no change in his general condition. In fact I saw him the day before he was admitted and he walked down the street with me on his wheelie frame. However, the hospital doctors appear to have decided that he is now too weak and that he would be treated palliatively with all the dread connotations that the word brings.... In the intervening days on the ward he was doing reasonably - eating, drinking OK, sitting in the chair and generally conversational - until that is the staff stopped his cardiac medicines (prescribed by hs GP). I can not see that he is being given replacement drugs by hospital and there has been no explanation as to why. Now he is dozing, eating very little and hardly drinking - at least only as much as my mum can get into him. Otherwise he is intermittently alert and his daily BP and other checks remain stable. The hospital are arranging return to home with palliative care from Macmillan and with the most pessimistic prognosis of 'weeks or days' ... I cannot believe that an otherwise stable for this age and condition man is now reduced to this and I am beginning to suspect that something is not right here. The unexplained withdrawal of his meds and the IV antibiotic simultaneously smacks of the hospital sending him on his way (euphemism) for no good reason other than that he is elderly. All we have been told is that he is not responding to treatment and that he no longer needed the antibiotic drip - he is still on oxygen.
Mt mum is very worried and desperate to get him out of there and under her usual excellent care - back on his meds - to at least give him a chance of survival. We have not consented to any withdrawal of treatment or care and are determined to get to the bottom of this indifferent care and hospital, but I am at a loss as to where we can turn to for advice or recourse. The doctors dealing with him (not the original one I spoke to) seem to have abandonded him - and others on the ward which is a generally sorry place to say the least.
Has anyone else been through a situation like this with the NHS and geriatric care? What on earth can we do short of removing him ourselves and getting his GP and the cardiac nursing team on to the case. Very worried and feeling helpless.
