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Concerns for dementia diagnosed diabetics in hospital

D

Daughter of diabetic

Member
Messages
18
Location
Hull
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.
 
get her the funk out of there if you want her to live for much longer ,sign her out right now and take her home with you. or at least sit with her 24/7 and see to what goes on.
 
I have been living with her for seven years now Christine - my hubby still lives at our house, we look after mum between ourselves and we pay carers to sit with her whilst I go to work (shifts and full time) - we are also paying the carers to sit at hospital with her but they are only working the days they would normally work so I go in myself when I am on my (fluctuating) Rest Days. At the moment she can't stand so we are having to have a Best Interest meeting - I am already threatening to discharge her and go to the papers. Non of injuries have occurred in the presence of a carers. After the last time (when we sued on the advice of Social Services who backed us) we made sure we had Full AND LASTING Power of Attourney (including Health) as now they have to get a Court Order to oppose us - whereas previously they took it all out of our hands - that's another warning for anyone caring for an elderly relative - make sure you have the Medical Power of Attourney too!!!! We learnt the hard way! It is frightening to think that mum only stopped driving and sold her car in 2008!
 
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You haven't said what hospital your mum is in I think you should let us know for others to be aware of what is going on,this type of thing is rife in our hospitals at the moment. Your mum is lucky she has a family to watch out for her, other less fortune elderly people are not surviving in these establishments.
 
I know where you are in this ,its sad and no one seems to care ,I have been in a similar situation for the last 10 years,your advise with medical power of attorney is very welcome and useful to know, my mum is very close to deaths door now, i have been poorly recently, having had a pelvic floor repair so mam has been living with my younger sister who has all say in her care ,i find it hard to accept the things that go on, for example last Tuesday I had a call from one of her carers, she found mam very poorly and called the paramedics who wanted to take her into hospital ,they wanted a member of the family to sign a statement refusing their advise, where was my sister, unreachable, always is on her day off. so I asked my son to go in and sign, can you imagine the hassle he and I got, when she got home.
the next day the carers asked me to go to see mam ,to sort things out, i was there for 4 days, mam improved with lots of fluids, but I got so incensed by what was going on around her I had to go home and swallow it. I have a mobile phone the camera takes a good photos but these days a photo can be altered so I don't think it would be excepted in evidence but you never know, so take one with you next time you see your mam and best wishes to you and I hope things end well for you and your mum.
 
my dear old mum passed away during the night, sorry to say ,but I know she is not suffering any longer now.
 
Sorry to hear that Christine. Can only offer my condolences............
 
So sorry to hear that Christine, as you say she is not suffering now. Please accept my condolences and sympathy

I am afraid I went to visit mum last Thursday and she has even more injuries. I have not been able to visit since due to work but am going again tonight. (I work shift work)

The hospital she is currently in Is called Castle Hill in Cottingham, near Hull. They are insisting she had her injuries BEFORE she arrived and prior to that she was in Hull Royal Infirmary (thats who we sued)

As I have carers and district nurses in we know her current injuries were definately NOT caused at home - the carers agency are brilliant and wouldnever have allowed it! We have to go to a meeting on 8th January but I am afraid I get really angry everytime I go and see more and more injuries. They just say it is because her skin is so thin but it is just as thin at home.


On the plus mum, although looking dreadful she still has the strength to swear at me so I know she is still fighting. Lol

I have taken photo's on my phone and they are acceptable as evidence - I know this as I am actually a Police Investigating Officer. (Hence the shift work!) and we do accept mobile photo's and own injury photos or make appoontments for photos of injury with our own SOCO

I have also mentioned what is happening at work and shown them my pictures.
 
hi so sorry to see that even more distress for you, and injury to your dear mum, we had the same problem with my mum at the glenfield hospital in Leicester, a major teaching hospital at the time .still mum has lived another 10 years since then, but it really incenses me how cruel some carers and nurses can be ,I trained as a nurse my self once my kids had grown up, and I never saw any bad behaviour, but I was aware of it,because when as a young mother diagnosed with skin cancer and having skin grafts ,the nurses were so nasty to me.
I asked when doing training, why are some nurses so nasty cruel and arrogant ,the tutor said we need nurses like that to weed out the malingers!.
I never met a malinger either but I saw a lot of lazy nurses and a lot of frightened patients and relatives, who have been at risk of harm because they have placed their trust in a so called health team. which is what a lot of people who have diabetes do as well, and thank goodness others on this site are looking out for, my,best wishes to you, for you too have a very difficult job, with little thanks, I hope your mum gets home soon.
 
DoD

Firstly I think it be wise to remove the name of the hospital, not a wise move naming and shaming at this point of time.

I used to work with dementia, and hoping to return to it in the new year (have an job interview on the 9th) you do have to bare in mind, that due to mum age and dementia her health can deteriorate very quickly and this is probably what is behind some of the things happening with your mum at the moment, the fall and being out of her usual environment will have had a major impact on her...

It doesn't excuse 'Poor Care' but might explain some of the deterioration and changes to medication that's been made.

When you have your meeting, to help maintain your cool, make notes of problems surrounding your mum care/stay, questions you want answered, and also what you want done... This will hopefully help to keep you focused through the meeting...

Sadly hospital were never and it seems still not geared up very well when dealing with the elderly who have dementia etc... My mum had dementia, she broke her hip when it was well advanced so had no communication skills or understanding of her environment around her. She ended up in the mixed surgical ward, sharing a bay with a young chap, I did half feel sorry for him, he'd been involved in a very nasty motorbike accident sustain major leg injuries, so was going to be in traction for quite a few weeks while bones mended.

This says a lot about the hospital and it's care be it old or young

Mum

She was admitted early evening and we were told she would be operated on the following morning, which didn't happen in fact it took 5 days before the operated and that was after one of my older sisters had a go at the consultant and told him straight if he couldn't do the operation within 24 hours, then she demanded mum was moved to an hospital that could etc.

The lad

In his 20's, put into a bay with the only other occupant being my mum, who had serve advanced dementia and constantly rambled on about the 'box' over there! constantly trying to get out of bed, got combative with nurses... Due to being in traction the lad couldn't decamp else where, nor did they move him to a different bay/ward he spent 3 weeks with my mum' as his only company apart from his visitors during visiting hours.
 
Thanks Jopar - I did not name and shame the hospital - I was replying to a question by Iono further up the thread. It doesn't help that mum is deaf too (most of the family are - including me and we wear hearing aids)
Another thing that is really bugging me is that we had to ask and nag a bit to get a 'Blue Butterfly placed above mum's bed - this is so that nurses are aware she has Dementia but they won't put a note/sign or picture of anything up to signify she is diabetic. - when we ask we are told it is national policy not to and is against patient confidentiality but every time we are there when the tea trolley comes round they ask mum if she takes sugar - she always says yes (she can barely remember her own name never mind if she takes sugar) if we are there we always point out that she needs sweeteners not sugar but we are not always there when the tea trolley arrives. We have been told that there is a list in the tea making room so 1) how can the tea lady (who vary every day) remember a whole ward of who is diabetic and who isn't and 2) if they have a list why don't they have it with them so they don't have to ask or even refer to it so they don't have to ask and 3) wouldn't it be easier all round to just put a little picture to represent 'diabetic' over the bed so the tea lady wouldn't need to refer to lists or ask or put sugar in diabetics tea which is obviouslyhappening?
 
[ They are insisting she had her injuries BEFORE she arrived and prior to that she was in Hull Royal Infirmary (thats who we sued)

.[/quote]

When your mother was admitted they should have done a Body Chart. They examine the patient (done by 2 nurses!) & indicate on the body chart any injuries or bruises etc. Ask them about this & ask why it wasn't done.
 
Thanks bopeep, I told them that she certainly did not receive the injuries at home and as we have a carer agency who provide carers all the time I am at work and district nurses in twice a day, all her ailments and any form of injury is logged at home so I know I am well covered there! I think they are tryiong to blame the previous hospital but she was only in there for one night. The did do a body chart and I noticed there was a large mark on the back of her upper thigh marked on it - I couldn't see the injury obviously as she was laid inbed but that was the only mark I have seen on the body charts. Last night when I went they had sat mum in a chair but I was shocked to see she was so bent over that her head was almost touching her knees and she couldn't straighten up. She now has both feet bandaged up. Mum swears like a trooper. now. It doesn't bother us as we know it is all part of the dementia and she always hated swearing. Mum was also complaining that her back hurt but two nirses just oiked her up and dumped her on the bed. I have already been in touch with Social Services Safeguarding. We were approached on New Years Eve by another patient who told us they could hear mother screaming on a night when the nurses go in. She does scream a lot a home. Very sad for an intelligent lady to end up like this - I don't really understand why mums BM is very high when she is barely eating a thing. and if her sugar is haywire we know that can slso affect her personality. We also don't understand why they test her blood sugar at times like quarter to twelve at night and half five in a morning and then not again until the evening. Potty. We no longer have a clue what type of insulin she is on - if any. The care agency boss went in to see her last weekend and tried to ask the nrse what was going on but the nurse just said she didn't know and hadn't got mums records handy or somethng like that. Funnily enough even the nasty nurse say sthat mum is always quiet when I am there - to me that tells me that she feels safer when she has someone with her. Off to work now and then straight to hospital tonight. Thank you to everyone for your support. and kindness = It does help to get things and worries off your chest
 
First of all they are not allowed under any circumstances to transfer any patient without the correct equipment such as a hoist if she is unable to weight bear, or a moving & handling belt if she can bear her own weight. If you see them transferring your mum from bed to chair, or chair to bed etc, without using the equipment they are breaking the law & you are entitled to tell them this. If they lift her with a member of staff either side holding under her arms, this is called a "Drag Lift", & is Strictley forbidden & illegal. If staff put thier arms around her from the front to lift her this is the "bear lift" & is also illegal. In short they are not allowed to physically move a person without using equipment. They are breaking the law & risk harming the patient or even losing thier PIN number if they are prosecuted & struck off. Which has been known to happen.
Secondly, they should ALWAYS have the notes to hand. They write in the notes constantly, each time they check her blood pressure, or temp, or give medication etc. Also on every single shift, the staff must write a report of how the patients have been, what treatment/checks they had done & her overall general well being throughout that shift. Including how well she did or didn't eat. It's the law.
So telling you they don't have her notes is rubbish. The doctors check the notes each time they see her. Stand your ground & don't let them fool you.
Btw, ask if she is on a food & fluid chart. This should be filled in with the details of every single thing she eats or drinks, inc the exact amount. It should also be noted on it each time she refuses food or drink. If she's not on one say you would like it done please starting straight away as you are concerned. Then you can ask to see it each time you visit.
Sorry I can't help much with the diabetes side of things as I'm fairly recently diagnosed myself. But I'm sure the lovely people on here will have much more knowledge than me.
Good luck. I would like to hear how you get on.
 
Thanks everyone. Just to update. We had a meeting yesterday. I am now looking for a nursing home as I have been told thatmum is now unable to even sit up and she is not suitable to go in a hoist as she no longer has the capacity to understand that they are llifting her. I went in on Monday night, I was a bit late leaving work so dashed n to let the dogs out for a minute then dashed up to the hospital arriving about thirty minutes later that usual - mum was on a chaior and alone in her room. Bent double with her heasd almost on her knees and her arms just hanging almost to the floor. I got down and said what on earth is happening? she just said my back hurts. With that a nurse and an auxilary came in and the nurse snapped - thats how she wants to sit. Then they grabbed her a side each and slung her on the bed. The they quite roughky threw her legs up and proceeded to change her pants, they were shouting telling her wa=hat they were doing but mum can't hear unless you get up close to her ear and she was screaming that her back hurt and fighting them. The nurse had a right go at me. The follwong day I went in and it was a different nurse and she was very nice. Both mum's legs bandaged up to the knees and she was slumped over to a side and looked very uncomfortable. She was upset and angry - she doesn't lknow what is happening part from they are hurting her. Her left thigh was a lot fatter than her right although it was the right that she had the twisted knee. Followong the meeting at the hosptial yesterdaya nd even though I have full and lasting power of attourney I am told I would need 2, possibly three carers 24/7 and would most likely have to ger up every two hours during the night tio turn her.Our care agency do not provided care to that extent and I am told mum is now totlally bedridden and can't even sit up unaided. The morla of the stroyis do NOT get old or get dementia or twist your knee. I still don't know what is happening with her insulin apart from she has lost loads of weight - I was told she is now on HumanI but they might put her back on Novamix (Which she was on in the first place with no problems) I am heart broken to think that I wanted to care for mum and have done for eight years now and this has all happened to her because she slipped and twisted her knee and at that point she could sit up and move around with her wlking frame. Even the dog is missing her and keeps going and putting her head on mums shoulder wrap. I have spoken to Safeguarding and they are taking the case up. Even if it's too late for mum - we may be able to help someone else.
 
hi ,has I have mentioned to you before my mum has been nursed at home and bed ridden for the last 10 years ,having carers 3 times a day to change her nappies and reposition her with an overhead hoist ,she was frightened at first but the girls have ben the same ones though out and were very very caring and she felt safe with them,,the bed is a hospital bed with a ripple mattress, and mum has only once had a small mark on her bottom about the size of an old sixpence which healed with sudagrem the last care of the day was about 9pm each day ,so mum only needed checking during the night and was almost always asleep.
she died in her sleep on the 27th ,my sister was so upset that she had gone when she was not with her. over the day we all came to give mum last little bits of care, for example ,washed her hair, did her nails ,polished her toenails, put her best dress on ,talked with her and generally treated her has she was still with us but now at peace. she was at peace and so were we in the end, knowing that we had done all we could for her ,funny you know because my sister dog always slept under mams bed ,it too died 2 days later. I do wish you well and I think you are doing right for your mum.
 



Reading this has made me so angry. She doesn't have the capacity to be hoisted so that makes it ok for them to throw her around??? Oh I'm fuming. Your poor mother. If I was there there's no way I would let them have a go at me, or at anyone. How dare they? I think the sooner your mum gets out of there the happier she'll be. My heart goes out to her. Those nurses are breaking the law & ought to be reported. Dementia patients have the right to be treated with dignity & care, as do all patients. Just because she can't understand does not give those nurses the right to behave like that just because they can't be botherd. It's people like that who give the nhs a bad name.
 
Thanks you Bopeep12300 and 2Christine - although I have never met either of you you have been so lovely and I really do appreciate your kind words and support. The Safeguarding people are going in tomorrow. Mum was very weak tonight. I sang to her again. If the nurses don't like me sinigng they can go whistle. I must admit I barely slept last night. I really wanted mum to spend her last years at home but I really don't know how I can do it now she is so bad. I was looking for homes - I have been trawling the internet but I have to find ones that do nursing and dementia care. I am looking for one as near as possible to home so that I will be able to go in and I have told them that if there is any improvement in her I am having her back home even if I have to kidnap her.
My dad died at home 2Christine - 2001. I was not actually here when he died but he just sat in his favopurite chair, mum said she would just answer the phone then get him his tea and he said Okay and went she finished on the phone he was gone. I came round and sat with him and my daughter did too, she had just turned 14, and we said goodbye to him. My daughter idolised him and she was the apple of his eye so it was nice in a way. My daughter spent a lot of time with her 'grumps' and grandma and is terribly upset at how mum has been treated.
I am working late shifts now until Tuesday so my husband weil have to do the visiting. Then we only have a couple of days to sort out a nursing home.
 
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