- Messages
- 18
- Type of diabetes
- Family member
- Treatment type
- Insulin
My 92 year old mum was admitted to hospital in November of this year after slipping and twisting her knee. She is currently still in hospital, is not eating and is constantly being sick and vomiting bile and has been for at least three weeks. We have now found that the Diabetic experts, at one point, stopped giving her her insulin but then restarted it but on a different type. Mum was originally on Novamix, 10 units twice a day and we were reasonably in control and no vomiting. Now it looks as though my mum is on the point of death due to a twisted knee. Her insulin has been changed for a slow acting one. The last reading I saw was 11.something before breakfast in a morning and the nurse admits mum has not eaten anything for days and is still vomiting. Obviously, if she is constantly feeling sick she will not want to eat. But we cannot get any definite answers from the staff - just fobbed off and told its her own fault as she won't eat. Mum is also diagnosed with advanced dementia and has been T2 diabetic for about forty years. She has also received numerous injuries and skin tears at the hospital - one extremely nasty one had an elastoplast over but it was left flapping off and a very nasty open wound exposed. Why do hospital mess around and 'fix what wasn't broken' - making people that do not understand anymore what is happening to them and leaving in a worse state than they were in before they were admitted? Her blood sugars appear to be all over the place and they test her blood at stupid o clock - i.e. on numerous occasions at 11:45 at nights - they do not feed her in the manner she is fed at home so she is not getting regular intakes of food and if a carer is not there to feed her the food is just removed without being touched - we have queried this and have been told it is because the night staff do it and sometimes they don't get around to it. At home her sugar is tested between 07:30 and 08:30 and in the evening between 16:00 and 17:00 and she eats regularly with regular snacks.
Additionally, why oh why do Diabetic patients not have a sign or notification over their bed ( a picture would do) mum has a blue butterfly to indicate dementia (I had to push for that too) so would a picture of a bee or a cupcake be a good indication - this would enable the person taking the tea trolley round to see at a glance NOT TO PUT SUGAR IN HER TEA!!!! We have this problem every time the tea trolley comes round in our presence so it must be happening when we aren't there too We actually sued in 2011 and do not want to go down that route again - the hospital admitted liability that time but all I really want is for elderly, confused diabetics to receive the correct treatment and to not end up coming out of hospitals in a worse state than they went in.
Additionally, why oh why do Diabetic patients not have a sign or notification over their bed ( a picture would do) mum has a blue butterfly to indicate dementia (I had to push for that too) so would a picture of a bee or a cupcake be a good indication - this would enable the person taking the tea trolley round to see at a glance NOT TO PUT SUGAR IN HER TEA!!!! We have this problem every time the tea trolley comes round in our presence so it must be happening when we aren't there too We actually sued in 2011 and do not want to go down that route again - the hospital admitted liability that time but all I really want is for elderly, confused diabetics to receive the correct treatment and to not end up coming out of hospitals in a worse state than they went in.