A strange Day

What a strange Day it has been today.

Well in fact it has been a strange and very busy week.

But today was the strangest. I had to see two very ill patients before am this morning.

Both needed hospital admission which was divastating for them as we had worked so hard to keep them at home, and then something entirely unconnected happened and admission

was the only option.

I worry that this may be more detrimental than beneficial.

Sometimes the very elderly become disoriented when removed from familiar surroundings and they then appear confused, this can worry relatives and in some cases lead to the patient being placed in Nursing Homes etc when really all they need is time to adapt.

This week has seen both these things happen and it was only pressure from the family and myself that allowed the lady concerned to come home, after 2 days back home she settled back to her normal, sharp, if slightly prickly self, a real feisty character.

I often think that more support offered by the Caring professions and services would allow patients, even those who live alone, to stay in their own homes which is often the best place for them to be. This is not always the case but sometimes all avenues are not explored before a decision is made, perhaps more education should be made available to relatives and careers so that an informed choice can be made. All to often they are "encouraged" to place relatives into residential care without these options being explored and evaluated first.

A sad situation !!!

Petula