"My mother's care in the Ulster Hospital"

About: Northern Ireland Ambulance Service / Emergency ambulance response The Ulster Hospital / Emergency Department The Ulster Hospital / Ward 4A (Orthopaedics)

(as a relative),

One Monday in January,  at 4pm, my mum who had advanced dementia and was 95 years old, fell in her care home and had a suspected fracture of her right hip.  The care home called the ambulance and made mum comfortable.  At 8pm we had a video call from a paramedic who asked us questions and could see mum via video link.  This call was very reassuring given that four hours had passed and we were still waiting on an ambulance.  The paramedic was excellent and gave us an idea when an ambulance would arrive.  The ambulance arrived at half nine and by half ten mum was on her way to the Ulster Hospital. The ambulance crew were excellent and rang me 

just after 12 midnight, when mum was going to be admitted into the hospital.  This gave me time to go into the hospital with mum.  We went into a emergency room and mum was examined and given pain relief and x-rayed and by half four she was in a holding ward.  I noticed that the nurses/doctors were using a hands free phone system to contact the ward and I thought that this was an excellent innovation.  Mum was eventually moved to the fracture ward 4B the next day and I asked if she could be placed near the nurses station as she had dementia and might try to get out of bed to go to the toilet.  The nurse in charge made this happen for which I am grateful for.  I have five siblings and we were with mum everyday for a month from 10 am to 8 pm.  Here are our observations.

1. Weekend cover: We  were always worried when a weekend came around as there were always different agency staff who didn't know mum and sometimes cover was very short.  Mum needed a lot of care and often the nurses had not had time to read her notes as they were so busy. 

2. Dementia care: I was glad that we were there as a family to speak for mum.  We had to tell mum frequently were she was and what had happened to her because she had no capacity to remember.  While most nurses did tell my mum who they were and what they were in her room for, very few of the nurses reminded mum where she was and what had happened.  This must have been very confusing and scary for mum

3. Answering phones:  When mum was going to theatre for her hip operation, two weeks after she had fallen,  we were told that the operation might not happen and that the ward would ring us between 7 and 10am to let us know.  When I had heard nothing by 10am,  I phoned the ward constantly for half an hour and didn't get an answer so my husband drove me to the hospital and I went onto the ward.  The nurses and the doctor were having a meeting and I asked if mum had gone down to the theatre and they said she had gone at 8am.  I mentioned that no one had phoned me and that I hadn't got any answer to my phone calls but no one said anything.  I then asked them to phone me when mum was out of theatre and they did. 

4. Answering the buzzer:  All the rooms have buzzer which you are encouraged to press if you require a nurse.  Often it would be ten minutes before anyone came even when there were nurses just outside the door at the nurses station.

5. Food:  Mum eventually stopped eating but often food would arrive which we didn't order and which just went to waste.

6. Special mention:  We would like to mention especially a nurse on the ward called Mark. He was very empathetic and kind to us all. 

7. Thanks: We would like to thank all the staff on ward 4B who looked after my mum for four weeks before she died on the ward.  They have a very difficult job and any criticism we have mentioned in this story are just points which could be improved on.

8.  Bereavement Nurse:I received a call from a bereavement nurse shortly after mum died on the ward.  This was an unexpected but welcome phone call and I appreciated the time that the nurse took with me. I hope this will continue for other families.

Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Jennifer Nicholson, Lead Nurse - Emergency Care, Emergency Medicine - A&E, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust 2 weeks ago
Jennifer Nicholson
Lead Nurse - Emergency Care, Emergency Medicine - A&E,
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
Submitted on 24/02/2025 at 16:32
Published on Care Opinion at 16:32


Hi Alexandra

Thank you for taking the time to tell us of your mum's and your family experience following her fall. I would like to pass on our sincere sympathy to you and your family at the passing of your mum. It is good to hear your mum was provided with good care during her initial assessment in ED. As a Trust we continue to review our processes for moving patients to the ward for their onward care and aim to improve on the timeliness of this.

The hands free device is an excellent system for communicating especially in a busy ED spread over a number of different zones and also for communicating with ward staff.

Take care

Jenny

ED Lead Nurse

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Neil Gillan, Co-Production & Partnership Lead, Quality, Safety & Improvement, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service 2 weeks ago
Neil Gillan
Co-Production & Partnership Lead, Quality, Safety & Improvement,
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service
Submitted on 25/02/2025 at 15:20
Published on Care Opinion at 15:20


picture of Neil Gillan

Good afternoon Alexandra2025,

I would like to begin by offering my sincerest condolences on the loss of your mother. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. It was reassuring to learn of the support offered by both the paramedic in the control room and by those who attended your mother in her care home. As an organisation we are committed to consistently showing compassion, professionalism, and respect for the patients we care for.

Yours sincerely,

Neil

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Helen Dugan, Lead Nurse, Surgery, South Eastern HSC Trust 2 weeks ago
Helen Dugan
Lead Nurse, Surgery,
South Eastern HSC Trust
Submitted on 26/02/2025 at 11:21
Published on Care Opinion at 11:39


Hi Alexandra

I am so sorry to hear about the recent loss of your mother. Thankyou for sharing your experiences. Its lovely to hear the positive comments and to hear staff were empathetic and kind. I appreciate all your feedback and areas for learning and please be assured we have discussed these as a team and are continually seeking ways to improve.

yours sincerely

Helen

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k