"Poor treatment from multiple services"

I'm just writing to make a complaint about the care my parent has received from multiple Eastern Health Facilities. 

My parent had a large haemorrhagic stroke earlier this year and since then, has been an inpatient at multiple Eastern Health Sites and as an ex Eastern Health staff member, I am exceptionally disappointed in not only the care my parent has received but also the communication, not only amongst staff but also to our family. 

I felt we had several incidents of poor care whilst my parent was an inpatient at Angliss rehab, (no one advised the full extent of their brain injury and we found out at a family meeting my parent would never regain use of their left side, so never walk again, and require high care (2 carers, 25/7, for the rest of their life), but today my main focus is on the recent care they received at Martin Luther TCP and hence leading to their admission as an inpatient at Box Hill. 

My parent was transferred from Angliss rehab recently, where on the day, I received an update (one of very few may I add) from their treating doctor that my parent had a good last few days, had been participating in rehab, their pain was well controlled and despite having a current UTI which was being treated with antibiotics, my parent was orientated and appropriate.
 

On arrival at Martin Luther that evening, my parent seemed in good spirits, telling us how much they loved the new facility and how lovely the staff were but by the next morning, this had dramatically changed. That morning my parent became increasingly distressed and confused, begging to come home and began suffering delusions (exact same scenario as when they had delirium at the Angliss). My sibling contacted my parent's case manager to highlight our concerns as our parent had also been given Endone overnight (which I believe is known to cause hallucinations) to which my sibling was told that our parent was not in delirium, that they were just upset with their move and that our parent needed to learn the staff aren't at their beck and call (which I completely understand as I am a nurse, but my parent is full nursing care) and that the case manager had been chatting to our parent who was completely appropriate (the information they relayed to my sibling that my parent had said was, in fact, all incorrect). Anyway my parent was seen by a GP, I believe who stated my parent was in delirium and felt it was from the UTI and they were recommenced on antibiotics. 

Fast forward a couple of weeks and our parent was still not only confused but was now also suffering from hallucinations and had 2 falls from bed. I contacted the case manager myself for an update and they informed me that my parent was improving, they were having less 'vivid dreams', was interacting and laughing with staff, and when they did become confused overnight, my parent was easy to re-orientate and settle and they were ensuring my parent spent their days in the recreation room.

This felt like such a relief to myself and my family, yet not even an hour later, I received a phone call from the geriatrician to inform me that my parent was currently in their room screaming as they were having a hallucination of a small boy being attacked by dogs, that they had thrown all their blankets and belongings at staff members and that no one could enter the room as they were a danger to themselves and others. The geriatrician stated that my parent had consistent confusion and paranoia and that they were unable to find a trigger for this (nil signs of infection ) and they felt that my parent needed to be commenced on antipsychotics and, once more settled, further imaging needed to be arranged to rule out a further bleed.

So I am unsure if our case manager even knows/has met our parent, especially as they stated that they were mainly working from home. 

My parent continually raised concerns around the care they were receiving at Martin Luther, such as leaving their water out of reach and only changing their pad twice per day and not attending to pressure area care, but due to my parent's confusion, we were unsure if these complaints were true.

Anyway, a few days later, my parent was found face down on the floor by nursing staff who stated they were unsure how long my parent had been there and that my parent had a large bump to their forehead. 

The nurse in charge contacted my other elderly parent to ask whether they should call an ambulance. I'm sorry but in my opinion, you are the health care professional not my elderly parent, if you are the Registered Nurse in charge, I believe you are responsible for the care of these patients and making these decisions, not a family member. My parent was sent to Angliss Emergency Department, we were never informed of their arrival (I asked a friend who was working to let me know if my parent arrived there) and we were never given any updates on their condition.

The next morning my sibling contacted Martin Luther to find out where my parent was, to which they stated, well they're not here, they must be at the hospital still but were unable to tell my sibling which hospital. My sibling called the Angliss to be told my parent had been admitted and they transferred them to the appropriate ward, it turns out overnight my parent had been transferred to the COVID ward at Box Hill Hospital without a single family member being notified. It also turned out that it had never been handed over my parent was in a psychosis that was a lovely surprise for all involved. 

We had multiple calls to this ward (where the staff were exceptionally helpful and kind), to try and clarify the situation and why my parent had been admitted but was not contacted by a doctor until the late afternoon. During this time, my sibling had been in contact again with my parent's case manager, who proceeded to read the notes from both Angliss and Box Hill to my sibling and informed them that my parent had a new bleed and hence why they were having a repeat CT brain.

When I finally chatted to a doctor, my parent, in fact, did not have a new bleed, the case manager was reading from a CT report completed overnight by a radiologist overseas who had no access to my parent's previous scans, and they expressed their disappointment that: 
a) the case manager had accessed these notes and
b) was providing this information to family, that my parent was being admitted to, find out the cause of my parent's delirium as they were aggressive, angry and confused and needed a full workup to rule out infection, plus a delirium screen and psych review. 

We are now thankful that my parent has been admitted and fingers crossed is receiving the care they need, but we are exceptionally disappointed in their care up until this point and never want this to happen to another family. 

Most recent info:

Since the above comments were emailed, my sibling was contacted by the Social Worker team to follow up on conversations with another team member. There have been no previous discussions, no contact, even though I believe their notes indicate otherwise. 

Recently, we were advised my parent was ready for discharge. After four brain scans in 1.5 weeks, a blood clot above their knee, and being told previously they are a danger to themselves and others. Not once have we heard from a Dr for the outcome of the results of the four scans or the blood clot. All were via the nursing staff when we called to speak to our distressed parent. 

We were advised they're ready to leave. Psych tests were fine, and no delirium, the day after the nursing staff were advising that my parent was in a secondary delirium. This was then found to be in the file as a note. The social worker could not advise what a secondary delirium was, why my parent had it, and how long this would continue as they understandably don’t have a medical background. Who does? Oh, a Doctor!

The nurse apologised for the terrible service and assured me a Dr would be in contact. 

Given our dreadful repeated experience for the last 13 weeks do we hold out any hope?

We have requested my parent not be transferred anywhere until such time as we understand what their actual condition is. 

We have, as a family, done the, oh it’s COVID times, it’s hard on everyone, but no. This has nothing to do with COVID. This is a blatant disregard because my parent is elderly, but as they believe they'll never walk again, they no longer count. 

Our parent counts to us, and we do not want this appalling service to continue for our parent, or anyone else’s loved one.