HOSPITAL CONCERN

Jenny and Luke

 As palliative care nurses, you were kind to Ken if not always understanding or able to control his vomiting. Ken  wasn`t  articulate , he would tell you as he saw it . Ken`s world was black and white .

Ken never knew what is was to be sick .

In the 20 years I spent with Ken I never knew him to vomit .

When he was diagnosed with cancer , it was a word  not a sentence to him , he had never experienced being sick .

Ken`s life never changed he just got weaker and he continued to vomit , along with bleeding and dehydration and I`m not sure anyone believed Kens` vomiting was involuntary .

When Ken`s pain was increasing in hospital  he had to argue for pain relief .

Ken had a psychiatrist come and evaluate him prior to his release on the afternoon of the 18^th   …re his vomiting .

The psychiatrist spoke to me after seeing and interviewing Ken and gave ken the all clear .

Ken`s vomiting was not related to anything in his mind .

So again Ken was sent home vomiting ….

Ken asked me why  they were sending him home when the vomiting had not ceased …. they never  answered my questions and just plain ignored Ken ...The intern  Harry was  arrogant , Bernard was friendlier but offered no answers .

At the end of the day a senior medical person presented himself and said it was the weekend and they could`nt do anymore for Ken …his words  were` we  are discharging Ken ….he may settle at home , but if he does`nt you can bring him back …`…….I was speechless they were discharging Ken for the same reasons he was admitted …..we had nobody to turn to …..You and jenny were unavailable . I requested palliative care I knew we were in trouble , the doctors told us it was too late to book in palliative care for the weekend .

I was really scared …Ken was so weak , but all he had was me …..Then some woman from pharmacy came in to room 154 with an invoice and morphine medication to be injected .

I said I could`nt do it …but they told me how sick my husband was and paliative  care could`nt come to us over the weekend , while they still proceeded to discharge him .

So they got a facecloth and a syringe and other things for me to practice injecting my husband with morphine for pain relief …. And then forced me to write the steps to be taken …I was so full of fear but  I was all Ken had ….. We were on our own .

They sent us home with no support …. Nothing , there was no duty of care .

Ken was buggered just getting  from his bed to the car with his stroller .

On arrival at home Ken said he didn’t think he could make it up the stairs ….he was so weak …he refused to sleep downstairs…. it took awhile but with my support he made it to bed .

I turned back the doona and llifted his legs up on the bed , Ken layed on his back and sighed ….he never moved again his breathing was laboured as it had been lately …I thought he was so tired ……but that was it , he never moved again and the next morning when I looked at him he was frothing at the mouth , he hadn`t moved at all……and there  was nobody to help us ….I was desperate when Ken couldn`t be woken up.

I rang palliative care Sharna said she  would come to me as soon as the meds were done .

I was frantic , I rang my daughter Nicole in Alice Springs and she told me to ring 000 for an ambulance .

Sharna arrived before the ambulance  , she took control , consoled  Dale and I with understanding and honesty of what was to come . Sharna was very good .The hospital  placed Ken in cubicle 7 in the emergency ward to die . Neil, the nurse assigned to us explained the dying process and what to expect ……

The hospital registrar appeared apologising for the difficult time we had had …. I was so upset and angry I never spoke ……..that man said among many things that the reason Ken had been sent home was because Ken had asked to go home ………….I was with Ken for most of Friday ,he was too sick to want to come home …….he knew he was dying …we didn`t know why they were sending him home .

I had to request a room so my husband could die surrounded by his family  who were taking it in turns to wait out in the emergency waiting room with their grief on display.

Dale who witnessed his dad lying in the distressed state at home in bed is suffering nightmares .

Even though I knew Ken was going to die nothing prepared me for the treatment that Ken received in the hospital there was no duty of care shown or acted upon.

I just wish the system had supported  Ken in the end , please pass my sincere appreciation on to Sharna .

This message is not meant as a personal affront but the hospital system dealing with terminally ill people is flawed.

Please accept my heartfelt respect for the demanding job you do .

Noelene Marchwicki