"Care of my acutely unwell mother (with Dementia)"

My 91 year old mother with dementia became acutely unwell and she was transferred to the Emergency Department in the early hours of the morning. She spent about 12 hours in the department. The care she received was wonderful and the doctor was sensitive in his discussion about ceiling of care for her. 

My mother was then admitted to Ward 6 B. Her care initially was acute and staff responded to her deterioration appropriately and sensitively. Her care then transitioned into comfort care and she passed away on day 7 of her admission. 

All the staff we saw, including nursing, Drs, speech therapist and  physiotherapists  cared for my mother with kindness and compassion. That also extended that to us, her family. They were advocates for my mothers care, flexible in visiting hours so we could assist with our mother's care but also be able to spend those last few days with her. 

We cannot remember everyone's name and I apologise for that, but we would love to recognise them all, Mary (CNC Palliative care), Mary (CNC Respiratory), Nurses: Sandy, Mel, Theresa, Robin, physiotherapist Sarah.

As with many hospitals, staffing was very tight, but staff maintained excellent care and you could tell it was a very cohesive team.

It was also lovely the social worker Mel ringing to offer support for the family.  

Thank you from all our family. Death of a loved one only happens once and those memories last a life time, so again thank you to the staff for ' good' memories of my mothers last days.