By Michele Hanson
Mavis went to visit her ancient mother in hospital last week and found that things were going from grim to worse. Mother is in a ward full of elderly ladies who don't quite know what's going on any more. They often put their weedy old hands up wanting something, as if in class. One wanted to know when her grandma was coming to see her, another wanted to be excused and had wet herself, and Mavis's mother wanted to know when she'd be going to her new school.
And Mavis wanted to know where her mother would be going next and when, because she and all the other old ladies were stuck there, bed- blocking, and had been for several weeks. Which wouldn't have been so bad if the nurses could have paid them more attention, but sadly, most of their quavering little requests went unanswered.
Even Mavis couldn't get an answer. No one knew whether the next stage for her mother would be social care or healthcare. They're both meant to be assessing her future needs. SC meets weekly, HC meets fortnightly. SC depends on HC's recommendation, but HC sometimes waits for SC to tell it that it is waiting for it, or until the ward staff put a note in a box-file. But HC doesn't often look in the box-file, and it gets fuller and fuller, and the recommended actions get covered over by other recommendations, while the old ladies carry on putting their hands up and wetting themselves.
What makes things even worse is that there are ladies from two different boroughs in this ward, which means two lots of panels meeting and agreeing who is whose responsibility. And when the whole process has been completed, then what? Will there be a nursing home vacancy anywhere? Mavis wanted to have a loud scream, but knew there was no point. Meanwhile, the social worker has told Mavis that she would like to know more about the family and plans to visit her at home. Whatever for? It's lovely to know that things are moving at last. But where to? [rc]
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
November 6, 2009
UK: The sad tale of Mavis's elderly mother
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LONDON, England / The Guardian / LifeandStyle / November 6, 2009
Michele Hanson: A certain age
The sad tale of Mavis's elderly mother
She is in hospital blocking a bed, but no one seems to know where she will go next
By Michele Hanson
Mavis went to visit her ancient mother in hospital last week and found that things were going from grim to worse. Mother is in a ward full of elderly ladies who don't quite know what's going on any more. They often put their weedy old hands up wanting something, as if in class. One wanted to know when her grandma was coming to see her, another wanted to be excused and had wet herself, and Mavis's mother wanted to know when she'd be going to her new school.
And Mavis wanted to know where her mother would be going next and when, because she and all the other old ladies were stuck there, bed- blocking, and had been for several weeks. Which wouldn't have been so bad if the nurses could have paid them more attention, but sadly, most of their quavering little requests went unanswered.
Even Mavis couldn't get an answer. No one knew whether the next stage for her mother would be social care or healthcare. They're both meant to be assessing her future needs. SC meets weekly, HC meets fortnightly. SC depends on HC's recommendation, but HC sometimes waits for SC to tell it that it is waiting for it, or until the ward staff put a note in a box-file. But HC doesn't often look in the box-file, and it gets fuller and fuller, and the recommended actions get covered over by other recommendations, while the old ladies carry on putting their hands up and wetting themselves.
What makes things even worse is that there are ladies from two different boroughs in this ward, which means two lots of panels meeting and agreeing who is whose responsibility. And when the whole process has been completed, then what? Will there be a nursing home vacancy anywhere? Mavis wanted to have a loud scream, but knew there was no point. Meanwhile, the social worker has told Mavis that she would like to know more about the family and plans to visit her at home. Whatever for? It's lovely to know that things are moving at last. But where to? [rc]
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
By Michele Hanson
Mavis went to visit her ancient mother in hospital last week and found that things were going from grim to worse. Mother is in a ward full of elderly ladies who don't quite know what's going on any more. They often put their weedy old hands up wanting something, as if in class. One wanted to know when her grandma was coming to see her, another wanted to be excused and had wet herself, and Mavis's mother wanted to know when she'd be going to her new school.
And Mavis wanted to know where her mother would be going next and when, because she and all the other old ladies were stuck there, bed- blocking, and had been for several weeks. Which wouldn't have been so bad if the nurses could have paid them more attention, but sadly, most of their quavering little requests went unanswered.
Even Mavis couldn't get an answer. No one knew whether the next stage for her mother would be social care or healthcare. They're both meant to be assessing her future needs. SC meets weekly, HC meets fortnightly. SC depends on HC's recommendation, but HC sometimes waits for SC to tell it that it is waiting for it, or until the ward staff put a note in a box-file. But HC doesn't often look in the box-file, and it gets fuller and fuller, and the recommended actions get covered over by other recommendations, while the old ladies carry on putting their hands up and wetting themselves.
What makes things even worse is that there are ladies from two different boroughs in this ward, which means two lots of panels meeting and agreeing who is whose responsibility. And when the whole process has been completed, then what? Will there be a nursing home vacancy anywhere? Mavis wanted to have a loud scream, but knew there was no point. Meanwhile, the social worker has told Mavis that she would like to know more about the family and plans to visit her at home. Whatever for? It's lovely to know that things are moving at last. But where to? [rc]
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
