"Dementia ward"

Due to the signage in the hospital I was unable to take pictures as evidence for risk of being fined.

On a surface level, I would like to complain about the chairs for those in care in the dementia wing/ward at Collie Hospital. My grandparent's room had a grey sitting chair that had cracked on the arms of the chair (germ risk I would imagine). My grandparent's spouse had to complain on multiple occasions to have this chair changed.

In addition to being old and seemingly not fit for a hospital space- I believe the chair design was not one suitable for the patients with dementia in the 4 person ward my grandparent was staying. The residents would often fall asleep in their chairs and be slouched over in uncomfortable positions for extended amounts of time. They were not moved from these terrible positions by the dining staff or the nursing staff. One man had his hand almost touching the floor, head almost on his lap to give you an idea. This was for over 30 minutes of our visit. In my opinion, more ergonomically designed chairs with better head rests or support would ensure that these elderly patients were cared for in comfortable positions.

And even though my grandparent has now secured a place at a nursing home, I am writing to request upgraded chairs for future residents. If photographs of the poor condition and design of the chairs, or the positions these elderly people were shared with family, community and the wider population I think there would be backlash. It was a sad state.

Now on a more concerning point, my grandparent's spouse asked that permission for any medical procedures be given by them before any actions were taken.

On two occasions my grandparent had a cathiter put in against their spouse's wishes. On the first occasion, my grandparent's spouse were told by the doctor that they had to do it or watch my grandparent die a terrible death. They were very shaken by this experience and concerned by the way they were treated by the doctor. This happened twice- once without their permission at all. They were not offered a second opinion and felt pressured into the decision and shamed rather than supported to understand.

They had explained their concerns about a previous prostate surgery and the posibility of scarring or issues. They had not had issues with my grandparent's toileting and felt that there were not enough staff checking if my grandparent needed the toilet regularly and that this was a way to just manage it with less hassle for the staff- not in the best interests of the patient.

This feeling was compounded when my grandparent was moved into their aged care home. And the cathiter was removed and has not been needed at all. In the care home they are regularly checked on and supported to use the toilet, changed when needed in their incontenance underwear.

In addition, my grandparent had injuries that were not disclosed or explained to their spouse, who had to seek out information about how they had happened including significant sunburn, and a hernia. My grandparent was seeing a GP without their spouse present and actions being taken for their care without proper consultation or even just plain communication about their issues.