New ombudsman survey on NHS care finds too many elderly patients ‘suffering in silence’

By Ella Pickover17th August 2017News EnglandCare Standards, Hospitals, News England, NHS, Older People

Too many older people are “suffering in silence” when things go wrong with their NHS care, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has said.

Elderly people often rely on relatives to raise concerns when things go wrong with hospital care, the PHSO said, but a new poll found that some family members find it difficult to raise concerns.

In a new survey, relatives of elderly hospital patients raised a number of concerns over care including an older male patient having to dial 999 after a fall in his hospital room and a patient put in to an adult “nappy” instead of being given help to go to the toilet.

The NHS needs to make clear to patients that their care will not be compromised if they, or a relative, makes a complaint, the ombudsman said.

The PHSO and the website Gransnet surveyed 600 people who had an elderly family member who had stayed in hospital overnight in the past year.

The organisations found that more than one in three (35%) said there were occasions when they were concerned about the care or treatment of their older relative in hospital.

Of these, 58% said they felt compelled to complain.

Among those who had raised concerns, half said it was “difficult” to complain and only 37% said they felt their concern was listened to and taken seriously.

Only 27% said they felt their complaint made a difference.

Among those who said they were concerned about care but did not complain, 19% said they were worried about the impact that complaining would have on the care and treatment of their relative.

And a third said they did not complain because they did not think anything would change, while 6% said they did not know how.

Relatives also provided brief descriptions about their concerns over care. One wrote: “After a fall my husband had to call 998 (999) for help. In his hospital room! No-one came. Lay on the floor for 75 minutes in agony before a doctor could be found.”

Another added: “If we didn’t visit at meal times I don’t think my father would have eaten as he wasn’t able to feed himself but the staff didn’t feed him either.”

One wrote: “The staff use adult ‘nappies’ for patients who can’t get out of bed. However, these were used as a convenience as when my dad was better and could get out of bed with help and asked to use the commode he was told to do it in the nappy as there was no-one available to help him. This happened on many occasions and made him really upset.”

The PHSO said there are far fewer complaints from older people than would be expected given older people’s high usage of NHS services.

A previous report from the PHSO highlighted that many older people are afraid to raise the alarm when something goes wrong in their care and worry about what will happen to them if they do.

“The NHS is a lifeline for many vulnerable older people but, when things go wrong, too many are suffering in silence,” said PHSO Rob Behrens.

“I want people to be confident to complain, know their rights, and speak up when things go wrong so that the NHS can learn from mistakes and improve services for others.

“NHS staff should make patients and their loved ones aware of how to complain, point them to available support, and make it absolutely clear that their future care will not be compromised.”

Lara Crisp, editor of Gransnet, said: “Patients deserve better than this. While we appreciate that services are stretched, communication with patients and their families must be improved. They should feel that their concerns are taken seriously and addressed properly.

“It’s simply not acceptable that over half of people with a concern feel they can’t complain or that it won’t make any difference if they do.

“Hospital staff need to be supported and enabled to communicate better with patients so that everyone is clear about the complaints procedure and patients are reassured that this will not affect their future care.”

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “We are determined to make the NHS the safest healthcare system in the world, but when things do go wrong, it’s incredibly important to listen to patients’ and families’ complaints or wider feedback.

“By learning from mistakes we can improve care. This is why we made complaints handling a crucial element of the hospital inspection regime.

“These findings show more could be done to help older people and families complain. We are clear that organisations should be open about how to complain and clearly communicate the support available to people who need help complaining.”

Shocking catalogue of concerns raised by relatives over elderly in hospital

One in three family members has been concerned about the hospital care of an elderly relative, a new poll has found.

From having to call 999 from a hospital ward to being told to use “adult nappies” even when the patient could use a commode with assistance, here are some of the issues raised by those surveyed by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and website Gransnet.

“If we didn’t visit at meal times I don’t think my father would have eaten as he wasn’t able to feed himself but the staff didn’t feed him either.”
“When I visited he had fallen out of bed. Nurses at the nursing station fell about laughing and continued while helping me lift him.”
“My mother is deaf and although I left messages with reception, none of these were passed on to my mother.”
“FIL (father-in-law) was often ignored when on the ward. Nursing staff too busy to come to see him. Left on a bed pan for over an hour and was only helped off when family visited.”
“I felt my relative was treated poorly and spoken to as though they were a child. Staff had little interest.”
“Mum was groped by a male patient coming into her room. When I complained I was told ‘Oh yes, he gets confused’. Why was he given access to female area? Mum was regularly ignored if she complained about anything. Staff seemed to find her a nuisance rather than a scared and confused old lady.”
“Ignored, not spoken to, not cleaned properly, not even given water or tea, not helped to eat.”
“The staff use adult ‘nappies’ for patients who can’t get out of bed. However, these were used as a convenience as when my dad was better and could get out of bed with help and asked to use the commode he was told to do it in the nappy as there was no-one available to help him. This happened on many occasions and made him really upset.”
“They were extremely overstretched and a toilet request meant up to an hour wait.”
“My aunt was bi-polar and this was totally ignored while they concentrated on her physical treatment.”
“Left in the same soiled clothes until we helped him to wash and dress himself – two days and nights.”
“She broke her arm when left alone despite her severe infirmity.”
“My elderly uncle was left overnight in a corridor on an A&E bed.”
“I felt like she was ignored unless me or other family members chased continuously for even basic needs such as help to the toilet. Buzzer for help ignored.”
“Inadequate monitoring. After a fall my husband had to call 998 (999) for help. In his hospital room! No-one came. Lay on the floor for 75 minutes in agony before a doctor could be found.”
“We felt that pain relief was sometimes overlooked as the staff were so busy.”
“Often dismissed/overlooked by staff when asking for help … Her buzzer was taken away – totally ignored because dementia patient and old.”
“My mum had a hip replacement which dislocated within hours of completion. Probably due to her being left on an angle on a bed pan for over an hour shortly after she rejoined the ward.”
“I went into visit my mother to find her on the floor between her bed and table. She had fallen off the chair and hit her head. No nurse or doctor were aware that she had fallen and it was left to me to find her and help her.
“On another occasion she was doubly incontinent and was left dirty and wet for over an hour. No-one was available to answer her buzzer when she pressed it. I pressed it one day and waited 35 minutes until someone came to see what was wrong.

“She was in a room on her own and was just left for hours on end. She was in hospital for six weeks, went in with a skin complaint, ended up contracting MRSA and is now a shadow of her former self who needs care every day and is failing before my eyes.”
“On arrival one lunchtime, noticed my father-in-law had a mouthful of food and couldn’t swallow it. I got a nurse and said I thought he had had a stroke. They called a doctor, who examined him and said she would get more experienced doctors to look at him. They arrived five hours later, confirmed stroke but said too late to treat as the ‘golden hour’ had passed.”