Mother was admitted on general ward. I live in U.K. for last 10 years. The medical treatment she had was not questionable however doctors(Dr. Vignesh and the medical director - Dr. Thillai) doesnot accept or take into consideration about patients or carers opinion(though it is a paid treatment). they gave us lot of false promises about curing the problem on the background that the patient clinical condition was critical.
To improve: Though it says on the walls(inside the hospital, near lifts) about medical staff listening to carers and patients - this doesnot happen. There is no complete transparency / explanation about the entire problem even when asked by me(as a medical doctor) -(wont complain abt that as they say the problem in a nutshell).
To respect patient’s carers background knowledge before and after explaining the medical problem and the care.
Staff in ICU - Sisters, nurses - sometimes can be rude. Doesnot allow us to look at Patients notes(however close you are - Inspite of me being a doctor son, I was told off and the notes snatched away when I tried to look at the blood results in the notes. The reason given - there are cameras in ICU and the board will look at that and shout at the nurse - rubbish. As we pay for the treatment and its my mother, I have all the right on the world to look and read my mothers treatment and results.
In western world - we are infact given the right to read through medical notes with the doctor sat beside to explain medical terms. They never say no.
Visiting restrictions: We are allowed to see the dying mother during her three days stay in ICU only twice. 2 attenders for half hour twice a day. Half an hour twice a day is very very little time to be with your loved ones when they are in ICU especially when they are alert and can listen.
This is entire bullshit.
I would love / anyone would love to sit beside our dying / critically unwell loved ones at all times according to our convienience and commitments at home and work not according to hospital visiting times of half hour during the day.
Must improve the communication between doctors, nurses and carers / patients.
When called ICU doctors at night from home to enquire about mother - I was told off by the phone receptionist Suresh and also by the ICU doctor for calling at 0040 hours as it was ICU - If my mother was not in ICU, I would not have called, I called to just hear - if her situation was as same as it was after our last visting hours time(1730 hrs). In ICU when critically unwell, anything can happen anytime.
I cant find why, I should not be told by docs and board about my mother’s updated situation hour by hour, inspite of paid treatment.
ICU docs and nurses do not update relatives when patient deteriorate at night time, they keep it till the morning. After I saw her yestd at 1730 to 1000 hrs - though my mother deteriorated and lost consciousness - it was not phoned to me then - they waited for 12 hrs and told me the next day morning. Thats unfair.
They failed to give oxygen when needed during initial resuscitation - the nurses simply forgot(not a major issue to complain).
No CT scan in the hospital - so very unstable patient was transferred to hospital 1.5 kms away for a ct scan with full ventilatory support.
No transparency in the treatment offered - they just brush it off saying - "not to worry - things will be fine, we know what we are doing, we will take care of it" - hateful word "not to worry" - as worry will be there all the time when some one that close is n ICU.
We were told today - "Dr.Thillai, retorted back when asked about sugar(mother diabetic) and simple things - said "those can be discussed at discharge"about someone who we / his team strongly thinks she will not survive. Not giving answers the questions / anxiety asked but to postpone answering the questions.
This place - is good for people who dont ask questions, queries, anxieties, worries about the patients treatment to doctors, nurses and just placing the trust on them thinking they are gods(as traditional way of thought - Doctors are Gods and they are all powerful, they can do anything, I mean anything to patients, carers without proper explanantion of pros and cons of the treatmet). Put Simple - They are not Gods(I myself is a busy Paediatric Intensivist in U.K is not god, just a simple human with medical background like software who can mend probs.)
Enough about my two days experience at ICU - she is still alive in ICU., will update how things go.
Make an informed, correct choice about the doctor / medical staff / hospital you go into - as it is vital.