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"Disempowerment of carer"

About: Northam Health Service

(as a carer),

My disabled spouse, who also suffers Alzheimer’s, was admitted from ED recently to the ward. I presented the next morning to see my spouse, they were being attended by a nurse and an assistant in the bathroom.  I entered the room and was told I had to get out they were busy doing something.

Somewhat taken aback by this greeting I waited in the corridor.  Long story short, after 3 exhausting attempts with a Sara Stedy (which I know how to help my spouse with but was told no) my spouse was eventually transferred by hoist onto the bed. They were placed in a position with their heels close to their bottom. They were asked to sit up to enable the removal of the sling.

As you can imagine they are slow to process requests. They were also unable to comply with the sit up request with their knees in that position. I spoke to my spouse and gently lowered their ankles. The enrolled nurse seemed to get very abrupt/cross and told me to get out of the room as I was interfering and ruining their work. I refused to exit the room, Advising I needed all the knowledge I could regarding manual handling. I also pointed out that their request for my spouse to sit up Was not something they could possibly comply with while in that position.  In fact at all anyway.

I felt the nurse's demands to my spouse were rapid and brusque And while I know it can be frustrating, they could not possibly comply without being allowed a longer processing time.  I later spoke to the nurse, and was in tears.

They first said that well I'd been told by the physios not to touch my spouse, not quite accurate, however they apologised and said they didn’t mean to come across that way. I understand the enormous stresses that everyone is under, However we as spouses and experienced carers Can help with this.

I was advised by this nurse that I was forbidden to touch my spouse or assist them in anyway whilst they are in the hospital. What I believe is this completely harsh disempowerment For my spouse's care and well-being  psychologically, For both of us, was very distressing.

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Responses

Response from Trenton Greive, Operations Manager Western Wheatbelt, WA Country Health Service - Wheatbelt about a year and a half ago
Trenton Greive
Operations Manager Western Wheatbelt,
WA Country Health Service - Wheatbelt
Submitted on 4/11/2022 at 12:04 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 12:22 PM


picture of Trenton Greive

Dear magpieeb76,

Thank you for sharing your experience with us on Care Opinion, I cannot agree with you more. Carers have a critically important role in the care of their loved ones in the hospital environment. It is very important for staff to work collaboratively with carers and patients to establish a patient’s Goals of Care and carers can assist staff greatly with knowledge of the patient’s needs.

I was sorry to read that staff were abrupt towards you and did not value your input. We have a high expectation of involving patients and their carers in the patient’s care and treatment. I apologise this did not occur and that undue stress was placed on you.

If your spouse is still in the Northam Hospital Ward, I encourage you to ask for or contact Denise Hughes, Clinical Nurse Manager on 9690 1610 to address your concerns.

Alternatively, you can contact myself, Trenton Greive, Operations Manager on 96901315 to advocate on your behalf.

Thank you for bringing the matter to my attention.

Best wishes

Trenton Greive

Operations Manager – Western Wheatbelt

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Update posted by magpieeb76 (a carer)

Thank you for your response Trenton and I cannot speak highly enough of Denise. I posted to draw attention to how important our caring role is to not only the recipient but to our own emotional worth. Understanding what difficulties the health profession face at the moment, I feel it’s no wonder patient/carer advocacy sometimes gets lost under pressure.

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