Poor Care for Grandparent

[Mrsmancmonkey]

Hi Guys

 

Happy new year to you all.

 

Is there any NHS templates on here as I need to write a complaint letter for my Grandma who is in a home.

 

 

Basically she has her toes cut by the chiropodist last time being was the 16 october. The chiropadist came again on the 27 Nov. But they didnt know why grandmas nail were not cut by anyone else in the meantime.

 

We are complaining because as a diabetic I am told her toe nails need to be cut regularly, chiropodist didnt cut them either on the last visit (27th Nov) even though he had questioned why nobody had cut them.

 

She then ended up on antibiotics as the shoes she was wearing then started to rub and caused infection

 

The wound is supposed to be dressed everyday and eventually on Boxing Day the Doctor was called as antibiotics had not helped, he said that the infection had spread, it was black and swollen and infection was up to her knee. Nobody had noticed this not even the district nurses who had been dressing it. When we went to visit a worker in the home had the cheek to tell us that as grandma is a black lady then thats why they hadnt spotted it because of her skin colouring .

 

Any advice warmly welcomed.

 

thanks

[poppynurse]

Foot care is vitally important in diabetics but there is a general perception that only someone trained in diabetic foot care should cut toe nails due to the problems that can arise if they are not done correctly. My concern would be why the chiropodist didn't cut them in November - ask for his contact details and put a complaint in writing to him, copying the home. Is the chiropodist NHS or private?

 

I think you also need to clarify with the home if they have anyone trained to cut toe nails and if not ask what steps they are going to take to address this. It seems that the problems grandma is having now are a direct result of failing to deal with her toe nails so this may be grounds for a negligence claim. What sort of home is it?

 

In regards to them not noticing the infection had spread, skin colour can prevent the typical redness from being apparent but the swelling should have been noticed, and I'm assuming there was pain and heat as well which should have flagged up the problem. Sounds like you need to complain to the home and district nurses about this.

 

I would certainly take this further.

 

Hope she's on the mend now

[Mrsmancmonkey]

Thank you poppy, the Chiropdist is private as we leave money with the home to pay him when he comes.

 

The home I am not sure as the council pay for her to be in there, but sure it might be a private home.

 

I think then I might need to establish whether the home had booked him in in November or whether he didnt do her nails for some reason then.

 

I dont suppose you have any templates at all.

 

thank you for your help

 

[poppynurse]

I don't think there are any templates but you could write sonething and post it here and we will comment on it for you.

[ScarletPimpernel]

When we went to visit a worker in the home had the cheek to tell us that as grandma is a black lady then thats why they hadnt spotted it because of her skin colouring .

 

This is not cheek, it is bad, unprofessional care. The colour of a patient's skin may make a passing,cursory inspection slightly more difficult (which in itself should point to the need to look closer), but it doesn't stop care staff speaking to the patient, or being aware of the history and carrying out regular checks. In residential care staff should be alert to changes in residents' conditions anyway.

[Mrsmancmonkey]

Just re-reading my post and realised I didnt put down that she has Alzeimers, I will try my very best to do letter - all comments welcome. Just going to type it up now

 

x

[Mrsmancmonkey]

Right this is the letter to her doctors. I am still trying to establish with the care home whether it was there negiligence for not putting on the nail list to get toes done or whether or not it was the Chiropractors fault.

 

This is the doctors one - thoughts please

 

Formal Complaint

Dear Mrs Davis

I am writing on behalf of XXXXXXXX and am making a formal complaint against the trust for their recent negligence of care.

As you are fully aware Sedonia has Alzheimers and Diabetes. Having diabetes it is paramount that she receives good food care. On October the 16th, 2007 she received a visit from the Chiropodist for her regular toe care, they came again on the 27th November however I am told they didn’t visit her on this day.

I am aware that the home called you on the 19th December having noticed that her leg had become infected and a course of antibiotics where given. I am shocked and dismayed that it took a week for the district nurses to get a more senior member of medical staff to look at her leg, when her leg was that swollen and bruised to her knee! I am told that due to her being a black lady that this might be one of the reasons that the infection hadn’t been spotted sooner. This is unacceptable. I can appreciate that it might have been slightly harder to detect but not to notice swelling is negligent.

I am now told from the hospital that due to the lack of care not only with the district nurses and the home that if this next course of antibiotics doesn’t work then she will have to have her leg amputated as the infection is now gone into her bone.

I would like you to look into this immediately, and if a satisfactory response is not received within the next 2 weeks then I will have no other option but to seek legal advice.

[Mrsmancmonkey]

This is for the Chiropodist, I am told that he does everyone on a 6 week basis and for some reason just missed her that time

 

Dear Mr Folkner

 

I am writing on behalf of xxxxxxxxxxx, at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxin xxxxxxxxxxx and am making a formal complaint against yourself as due to your actions this situation wouldn’t have arisen.

 

As you may or may not be aware, xxxxxxxxxxxxx has Alzheimers and Diabetes. Having Diabetes it is paramount that she receives good food care. On October the 16th, 2007 you visited her for her 6 weekly toe care, I am told that you came again on the 27th November, 2007 however you missed her of your list of patients, failing to cut her nails. I have been told by xxxxxxxxxxxx (Home Manager) that she was on the list provided, as all residences have their nails done 6 weekly.

 

Due to your actions, and subsequent care that she has received she is now in hospital and I am told from the hospital that if this next course of antibiotics doesn’t work then she will have to have her leg amputated as the infection is now gone into her bone. I would like to add that if her toes had been maintained then we would not be in this situation now.

 

I would like you to look into this immediately and if a satisfactory response is not received within the next 2 weeks then I will have no other option but to seek legal advice.

 

Regards

[gizmo111]

Would you like to edit the personal details out?

[Mrsmancmonkey]

Any suggestions folks about the letters please would be much appreciated? Do you think I have missed anything out

 

Thanks

[poppynurse]

I think the one to the chiropodist is fine.

 

I'm not sure who the other one is to?

[Mrsmancmonkey]

The other one was for the district nurses practice. I finally managed to get hold of the Chiropidist and he told me that because my grandma (who has alzeimers) said she didnt want them doing, didnt do it!! He reckons he checked her feet and agreed it with the Home manager, however they are saying nothing was agreed with them?? What do you think my next step is?

 

Thanks poppy for your help

[jailbird]

Hi, I am really sorry to hear about your grandma and hope she is feeling a little better. I have read your letters which are fine but I hope you dont mind me mentioning that in both you have put 'food care'. Should it not be 'foot care' ?

 

Sending my best wishes. This is dreadful care by anyone's standards.

 

JB

[Mrsmancmonkey]

Ha I have...

 

She is still in hospital, but doctors think that the new antibiotics are working on her, fingers and toes crossed.

 

x

[trixter444]

Glad to hear your grandma is responding to the antibiotics first of all.

 

As a Home Manager myself I find it appalling that the comments made by the care worker of your grandmas skin is completely inappropriate and irrelevant - I hope you have put in a formal complaint with the home manager about these comments. If you get nowhere with that, then there should be displayed contact details of a Regional Manager who you can approach and will take the comments very seriously.

 

Private chiropodists usually attend a home every 6-8weeks to do residents feet. With your grandma being diabetic it is imperative her feet are continually looked after - hence the NHS chiropodist coming out. The diabetic residents in my home usually see both to be honest, and like yourself the relatives have to ensure that they have enough "pocket money" to pay for the private chiropodist as unfortunately this isnt covered with any fees they pay. NHS chiropodists are free, as you probably know, and can be rung at any time to come and visit a resident who is diabetic and needs their nails cutting - the nurses/care assistants should have noticed that these need doing, otherwise if its anything like our NHS chiropodists in our area they only tend to visit every 3-6months which is nowhere near enough - hence majority of our residents have the private chiropodist as well.

 

The argument you have is with the home, not the Private Chiropodist. It is the home's responsibility to maintain a duty of care to all residents - hence they should 1) be documenting on a personal hygiene form daily of what personal hygiene she has had 2) From that Care Plan documentation they should be able to see when the last time your grandma had her nails cut 3) They should have rung the NHS Chiropodist and asked them to come out asap!

 

The additional info about her having alzheimers - although your grandma has alzheimers she still has the right to refuse chiropody, normally if they refuse I would have thought they would have kept trying throughout the time the chiropodist was there. The private chiropodist CANNOT enforce anybody to have their feet done by him.

 

Put a formal complaint in writing to the home manager, of which they will have a certain time period to respond. Ensure that there was enough money in your grandmas pocket money if she would have wanted her feet done, just in case they say she didnt. If you dont get the response you want from the home manager, then as I say, there should be contact details of a regional manager who will investigate, again if you do not get the response you require you can always go higher with it! and if you exhaust all avenues at the home, then you can always contact CSCI who regulate all care homes who will do their own investigation with the home.

 

hope that is of some help to you, if you need any more then feel free to ask.

[Mrsmancmonkey]

Hi Trixter

 

Thank you so much for your response. We have written to the nursing home and are waiting for them to respond back to us.

 

We leave some pocket money for her for her feet care and for other essentials which is paid on a monthly basis to the home.

 

Its quite interesting you point out that its the carehome at fault and not the chiropodist as the home when talking to the Care Manager she was making out that its his fault for missing her off, obviously the aftercare she received they feel was acceptable even though it took nearly 2 months from the last visit f(and somewhere inbetween) and for us/district nurse to be told of the infection. I will wait to see what sort of reponse we get and keep you posted.

 

Thanks again for that

 

[trixter444]

Hi Keekstar

 

yes its the Home at fault, not the chiropodist. The chiropodist is not a mind reader therefore the home would have had to have told him who has pocket money in order for them to have had their feet done and pay for it therefore if your grandma had pocket money and you say she did, then why was she not on the list - that is the homes fault for not putting her on it. They must have looked at who has got money to have given the chiropodist a list of people to do. Its like you going into a restaurant (grandma going into home) and not being offered a meal (not put on the list)- thats not the chefs (chiropodist) fault, he is there to do a job of which he is told how many people to cook for(do foot care).

 

Good luck with the response, dont take any rubbish given to you.

[honey5]

reading with interest here........

hope Grandma is feeling alot better and they are ontop of that nasty infection

Grandma fortunately or unfortunately depending on the scenario does still have rights under the patients charter, unfortunately if she refuses treatment it cant be forced

the lack of persistance in trying to win people round these days appears to be a lost art

the infection on the other hand is where you step in and make sure you get answers to your questions, irrelevant to skin pigmentation anyone that is nursing Grandma should have realised that there was an infection present, whether by heat /sweling/ discolouration, they obviously arent on the ball at all, and to be honest id be looking to find Grandma a new home when she is well enough

wishing her and you all the very best

honey x

[Mrsmancmonkey]

Will keep you posted we havent heard back yet, I am giving them until mid week to reply so will let you know what they say then.

 

Have a good weekend guys x

[Rideout]

Im sorry to hear about your situataion, Have you resolved this matter yet?

I work for NHS and know to well of the complaints procedures. I also know the NHS takes ALL complaints with the up most importance.

[Mrsmancmonkey]

Hi Rideout.

 

We have moved my grandma to a different home as the response we got from the home was that it was down to the Chripodist and although the care wasnt to their normal standards they basically arent going to do anything.

 

I have to be honest been pre occupied as we are in the process of moving home, have our sister in law with us and trying to sort her housing out too, however as soon as the sale has gone through i am going to take it further as their response was unacceptable to say the least

 

xx

[Rideout]

im sure with the right contacts i could find out very quick who the pct management you need to talk to. There is also the health ombudsman you can go to they are most certainly going to help you with any complaints and will complain on your behalf by law they must respond to them. good luck.. xxxx

[Mrsmancmonkey]

Super thank you, as soon as we get moved I will PM you if thats ok? Thanks for your help x