My Mother was admitted to Apollo Hospitals in First Med, Ponamalle high road due to low BP , she was 84 yrs of age. Immediately they found that her WBC was very high and she had an infection and she was shifted to the CCU.
During her stay, she was diagnosed with PulmonaRy Embolises, a heart problem quite common with aged people. Her Urea and Creatinine were also high. The following day she was give a sedation tablet sInce she was complaining of the way the nurses were treating her in the CCU. This sedation tablet called Oleanz 2.5mg is not recommended by the FDA for aged patients with heart problems. By the time we noticed this during our visits to the CCU she was already given 4 of them.
We then protested against these tablets and then they agreed and supposedly they said that they had stopped giving her sedation tablets.
One of the wonderful features of our modern hospitals today, especially in Apollo Hospitals in Frist Med, since that is where we had our first experience of a loved one being in the CCU, is that the SENIOR DOCTORS responsible for each of the patients well being, just come for a brief visit and check up at the CCU of each of their patients, at the most twice a day, and they dont even see the patients, all they do is see the reports of the nurses and the duty doctors whose poor expertise in handling CCU patients in this hospital speaks volumes of how backward our systems our in such hospitals.
Most of the nurses hardly know how to speak properly, communicate well with the patient or have a pleasant face to their patients. They dont even smile and so dumb faced and serious that even a healthy person would become sick looking at them. My mother was vomiting and all the nurse was doing was staring at her until we asked her what was going on that she rushed to get some paper napkins to clean her. When we asked her why she was vomiting, said she doesn’t know and had to wait and report the same to the SENIOR DOCTOR when he came(that would not be before another 12 hours), Can anyone believe this?? In a CCU?
Basically in a CCU we are leaving our loved ones in the hands of these DUTY DOCTORS and NURSES, most of whom are there just for their jobs and Salary cheques and care a damn about the patients.
My Mother showed signs of improvement the following day and the SENIOR DOCTOR informed us that she could be shifted to HDU maybe in a day or two.
Suddenly that very night(Being a Sunday, there were limited number of DUTY DOCTORS and NURSES) my Mother passed away. The reasons given were CARDIAC arrest. As simple as that. THE SENIOR DOCTOR reached almost two hours after they started the CPR. A Sunday is a Holiday in Apollo First Med, so if a patient gets serious in a CCU, no expert Doctor is around to save him or her.
What exactly happened that night, which nurse was attending my Mother, how come suddenly a Cardiac arrest, how long was it till they noticed she had a Cardiac arrest, etc....all went unanswered. She was supposedly given the utmost care, on oxygen mask, IV for the medication and glucose, etc.....and how come that no one noticed her having a CARDIAC ARREST in a CCU so that she could have been saved in time.
After all what is the purpose of CCU, better off at home where we see our loved ones round the clock when they are sick. I would say that this CCU is as good as a slaughter house in Chennai and would recommend people to stay away from such a disgusting place where you lakhs of rupees for good service and all you get is rubbish garbage service.