Diabetic patient died after nurses failed to give her insulin

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Twitchy said:
...........This is one of my most deep rooted diabetes-related fears - being elderly, stuck in hospital and reliant on the staff there to care for my diabetes :( because, frankly, my experience to date does not inspire confidence!!!............
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Hey Twitchy - the lady in question was only 66 years old - i.e. exactly the same as me.

I certainly don't consider that to be very old. I've certainly got all my marbles and faculties and would have thought that the lady would have been well in charge of her situation until the hospital in question failed her when she needed help from someone else.

Best wishes - John
 
There is, or certainly used to be a clipboard at the end of every bed containing a chart showing the patient's condition, treatment required, treatment given and kept there precisely so that anyone caring for an individual knows what's needed just by reading it. Keeping that data anywhere else, while it might protect the patient's privacy, endangers lives. This poor woman might still be alive if that chart had been there instead of hidden behind the counter at the nurses' station.
 
cazscot said:
.............Can I ask is it common practice to take control away from insulin dependent diabetics when they go into hospital?.......
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Carol,

From what I understand, I think it is quite a common practice to take control away from diabetics when they are hospitalised.

John
 
I've heard that too Wally. Was there not one of our members in hospital a while back and put on a sliding scale instead of being able to manage their own Diabetes? And didn't it cause havoc with their numbers?
 
wallycorker said:
Carol,

From what I understand, I think it is quite a common practice to take control away from diabetics when they are hospitalised.

John
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I did mention my experience earlier but will repeat some of it for those who have been asking about this. I was admitted 4 weeks ago after a suspected TIA and was allowed to maintain full control of my care. I checked my levels, did my jabs and changed my dose to fit with what was needed. The pharmacist had to come and check that all my stuff was in date but that was all. It was one of the first things I asked when they admitted me and no one had a problem with it. I think it probably depends on why you have been admitted and what state you are in.
 
Aaaaaaaargh!!!!!

I've just heard the story about this poor woman reported on BBC Radio and they said:

The woman died because the hospital failed to give her the insulin she required when her blood sugar was low
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HOW CAN THE MEDIA GET THIS WRONG SO OFTEN.

Edit: next bulletin that omitted the phrase 'when her blood sugar was low' They must have had a bunch of calls!
 
Care in Stafford!!

I was in Stafford Hospital a few years back and was allowed to keep my own medication with me and test when I needed to. I was given Insulin prior to my op by the nursing staff after testing and for a few hours afterwards, then I was allowed to carry on as before! My charts were kept at the end of my bed for nursing staff to look at (which they did) frequently.

I do wonder where the family and patients own responsibility comes into this?
I hope that no one is upset or offended by this question?

It is so sad that the media seem to only pick up on the bad and not the good!!
 
Sorry John, I certainly didn't mean to offend when using the term elderly - I wasn't specifically referring to the woman in the article (or her age specifically), it was more of a generalisation...

My comment was born partly from the article, partly from some comments I overheard while in hospital recently (by staff about a diabetic patient in their 80s), and to a large extent from the genuine fear I have that one day I will be perceived by some hospital staff as "old" or 'elderly' with all the health care rationing connotations that (in my family's experience) go with that conclusion. I am afraid that one day I will be stuck in hospital with family maybe not able to visit/stay, and I will be vulnerable due to the damage of the many decades' diabetes wear & tear and the arrogance that I have seen a lot of HCPs use as a default setting when dealing with diabetics of any age...

I certainly don't intend to use elderly as a negative term, my in laws are in their 70s & are livewires! 🙂 I confess I was assuming that as this poor woman went a number of days without her insulin, that she had some other condition which made her vulnerable and unable to demand the care she had a right to...this is what I mean about being 'elderly' & vulnerable in hospital. If I an lucky enough to reach 66, it will be my 7th decade of diabetes - as I already have retinopathy, I dread to think what state I will be in by then if I can't always manage immaculate control - hence my fear about being in a state at that age to take care of myself. That was all I meant, I certainly was not attempting to disparage people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, etc - it was just a comment on how vulnerable people perceived by HCPs as 'elderly' can be. Hope that clears things up! 🙂
 
shirl said:
.........It is so sad that the media seem to only pick up on the bad and not the good!!...........
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Hi Shirl,

I'm having great difficulty in working out the good is in this absolutely appalling statistic:

"As many as 1,200 people are thought to have died at Stafford Hospital through neglect between 2005 and 2008."

John
 
Twitchy said:
Sorry John, I certainly didn't mean to offend when using the term elderly - I wasn't specifically referring to the woman in the article (or her age specifically), it was more of a generalisation...

My comment was born partly from the article, partly from some comments I overheard while in hospital recently (by staff about a diabetic patient in their 80s), and to a large extent from the genuine fear I have that one day I will be perceived by some hospital staff as "old" or 'elderly' with all the health care rationing connotations that (in my family's experience) go with that conclusion. I am afraid that one day I will be stuck in hospital with family maybe not able to visit/stay, and I will be vulnerable due to the damage of the many decades' diabetes wear & tear and the arrogance that I have seen a lot of HCPs use as a default setting when dealing with diabetics of any age...

I certainly don't intend to use elderly as a negative term, my in laws are in their 70s & are livewires! 🙂 I confess I was assuming that as this poor woman went a number of days without her insulin, that she had some other condition which made her vulnerable and unable to demand the care she had a right to...this is what I mean about being 'elderly' & vulnerable in hospital. If I an lucky enough to reach 66, it will be my 7th decade of diabetes - as I already have retinopathy, I dread to think what state I will be in by then if I can't always manage immaculate control - hence my fear about being in a state at that age to take care of myself. That was all I meant, I certainly was not attempting to disparage people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, etc - it was just a comment on how vulnerable people perceived by HCPs as 'elderly' can be. Hope that clears things up! 🙂
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Hi again Twitchy - I was only joking but that's a suitable amount of grovelling. 🙂

By the way, you should do OK in seven decades time if you stick to the levels of control show in your signature.

Good luck and best wishes - John
 
wallycorker said:
Hi again Twitchy - I was only joking but that's a suitable amount of grovelling. 🙂

By the way, you should do OK in seven decades time if you stick to the levels of control show in your signature.

Good luck and best wishes - John
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PHEW! 😛

Sincerely hope I last another good few decades - but the one thing that rang true about the God-awful C4 programme about teenage diabetics was the doc's comment about them all being convinced they 'won't make old bones'! 😱 Still, positive thinking eh?! 🙂
 
Caroline said:
I think it depends on the area you live in and the level of care you get when not in hospital. Some areas are better than others.
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It can depend on which ward you are admitted to, as well! I've been in the clinical investigations ward of my local hospital, where my diabetes care was left entirely up to me - the nurses never even mentioned it, much less checked my blood sugar or asked me to check it.

In the same hospital I was in the women's health/maternity ward (section, not in labour ever) and the registrar first refused to believe me when I said I didn't use any long acting insulin, then took my insulin pump off me without my knowledge and refused to give it back for over 12 hours 😱. I was NOT on a sliding scale, my blood sugars (self testing) were over 30 by the time it was returned - I called my DSN who came over and spat feathers at Dr Stupid :D I had no access to insulin for that period, the hospital has now rewritten it's protocols because I became a "notifiable incident" or something like that.
 
Hi John,

I can assure you that there are very good nurses who care for their patients in Stafford Hospital as well as bad!

Shirl
 
Cate said:
It can depend on which ward you are admitted to, as well! I've been in the clinical investigations ward of my local hospital, where my diabetes care was left entirely up to me - the nurses never even mentioned it, much less checked my blood sugar or asked me to check it.

In the same hospital I was in the women's health/maternity ward (section, not in labour ever) and the registrar first refused to believe me when I said I didn't use any long acting insulin, then took my insulin pump off me without my knowledge and refused to give it back for over 12 hours 😱. I was NOT on a sliding scale, my blood sugars (self testing) were over 30 by the time it was returned - I called my DSN who came over and spat feathers at Dr Stupid :D I had no access to insulin for that period, the hospital has now rewritten it's protocols because I became a "notifiable incident" or something like that.
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No-one is allowed to take your pump off you - they dont have that right. Unless you give your permission they cannot take it off you. When Alex was in hospital a couple of weeks ago on holiday the doctor in A&E told me to take it off - I said I wasnt happy to and he insisted. Then another doctor came round and told him to 'get it back on now' and had a quiet word with the first doctor. Then on HDU the nice doctor made a point of finding us and told me that if this ever happens again - do not let anyone take the pump off unless they have other insulin ready - and even then to insist on a break down of what they had planned as he said the pump we have is so much more accurate than any hospital drip they have. He said they dont have any rights to insist on it either.🙂Bev
 
Bev - I know, but I was unconscious! When I came round and realised what he'd done I went nuts, but it had no effect. My husband also went nuts, same result. It was only when I got my DSN involved that he grudgingly admitted that it perhaps wasn't the best plan in the world. I have no idea when he was planning to return the pump, he seemed to think it was an optional treatment and nothing bad would happen if he took it away (!).

It still makes me furious when I think about it, there was no reason for me to go so high, probably with ketones (nobody checked for them or seemed concerned).
 
Cate said:
Bev - I know, but I was unconscious! When I came round and realised what he'd done I went nuts, but it had no effect. My husband also went nuts, same result. It was only when I got my DSN involved that he grudgingly admitted that it perhaps wasn't the best plan in the world. I have no idea when he was planning to return the pump, he seemed to think it was an optional treatment and nothing bad would happen if he took it away (!).

It still makes me furious when I think about it, there was no reason for me to go so high, probably with ketones (nobody checked for them or seemed concerned).
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I dont blame you for being furious. What I dont understand is what they think is going to happen if your without insulin. I think even some Medical Professionals just dont seem to understand the urgency and the protocol required for a diabetic having a crisis. I wish I had ignored the Doctor who made me take the pump off Alex - but its difficult when your in an emergency situation and you think others know what they are doing and you just seem to do what your told. I wont do that again though, I will insist on seeing their sliding scale and not do anything until or unless I agree that we need the pump off. (hopefully this wont happen again).🙂Bev
 
Hi Shirl

I've tried to point people in the direction of understanding the wider issues at Stafford General Hospital and the attempts to improve NHS care of people with diabetes in England (Think Glucose), but people don't always read the details. It sound like your good experience was before the really bad time at SGH, but I'm sure that even during the bad times there, not all staff / wards were bad all the time.

I agree with the need for patients to take responsibility, but that's impossible where person is unconscious or doesn't have any visitors / relatives near enough to visit (or don't know person is in hospital) - so, not offended at al - a question that needs to be asked. I've only spent 2 nights in hospital, but as I live over 100 miles from my parents and sister and my partner was sailing in the English Channel when I had my accident, I didn't get any visits until I'd been in for over 36 hours, except for a lodger who brought in a few essentials. Fortunatley, I had my insulins & testing kit with me (as at all time), but needed contact lens kit
 
Thanx Copepod,

Stafford Hospital isn't perfect and I'm sure not the only one with problems. There just isn't the standard of care given or even time to talk to patients anymore it's all about getting 'em in an out asap, its all numbers.

I think a lot of the problems stem from the fact that not many, if any at all, of the management have come through the ranks and actually NURSED anyone. How can they possibly KNOW what its like day to day on a ward?

Anyway, rant over, I have to live here an have to rely on and trust this hospital for my care and care of those I love.

Shirl x

p.s hope that last bit makes sense
 
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