Thomas Milner's Palliative Nursing Care

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Thomas Milner our husband, father, and grandfather spent his last 5 days being pushed from pillar to post and finally ended up for the last 40 hours of his life on a shambolic Palliative Care ward at the NHS Northern General Hospital, Sheffield.

We were at the NHS Northern General Hospital, Sheffield the WHOLE TIME from 7/1/06 until death took Thomas from us 11/1/06.

We would not have done anything else.

At A.& E. Thomas was examined. He had bruises all over his body due to his myeloid leukaemia. We, his family, were questioned about these bruises in a very accusing way by the nurse. The Lady Doctor found it hard to understand us as she didn't speak English very well.

Thomas was thirsty, uncomfortable and frightened at all the things that were being done to him. He was being injected and had wires and tubes attached to him as well. He hated injections!

The NHS staff did NOT get him any water nor did they see to his general comfort whilst on that A. & E. trolley.

We, his family, were treated as though we were in the way. We were NOT told anything. We told them that there was a DNR order in the medical notes - Do not resuscitate due to futility. (They never told us what they were doing that day and 4 months after his death I read in the medical notes that they HAD resuscitated him!)

Thomas, (after having been liquid resuscitated) was transferred to the MAU ward at the NHS Northern General Hospital Sheffield.

This team of NHS medical workers were very busy but they did look into the side room where we were on a regular basis. The room was quiet, peaceful and dimly lit. The staff saw to his toiletry needs by fitting a conveen to his penis and padding him at the back. He was haemorraghing due to his terminal myeloid leukaemia. They gave morphine injections whenever we went to them and said he was getting agitated.

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Transfer to the Palliative Care ward at the NHS Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, was the most terrible thing that could have been done.

It was here that after being moved out of his deathbed and taken in a wheel chair outside in the bitter cold wearing his pyjamas, that he ended up sitting for 4 hours whilst administrative forms were filled out!

He looked so poorly and at 18.00p.m. 9/1/06 he finally got into the bed on this 3 bedded ward. (40 hours prior to dying).

40 hours which started with the night nurse giving him his needed top up's of extra morphine and seeing to his toiletry needs.

The day shift, 10/1/06, of NHS 'Palliative Care' nurses REFUSED him his needed top up's of extra morphine and did NOT see to his toiletry needs.
They changed him once during their shift but did NOT re-pad him or refit the conveen. Thomas ended up laying in his own blood and urine.

On admittance to the Palliative Care Ward of the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield it was noted that he had a sacral sore (bed sore). This bedsore was NEVER dressed whilst on this NHS End of Life Care ward. One can only imagine how painful this must have been as he laid in the urine and blood!

After this one and only time when these 'NHS Palliative Care nurses'had come to see Tom, at our request, once they had finished 'rough handling' Tom, they left him with his head pressed against the metal headboard. We had been kept outside the drawn curtains but heard him cry out as they were 'caring' for him!
I saw a spare blanket on the 3rd unoccupied bed in that Palliative Care ward and once the 'nurses' had left the ward, I rolled it up and put it under my father's head. At 18.30p.m. a male 'MacMillan Nurse' came to see us. He noted that Tom had a 'ruttly' cough and said he would fetch something. We NEVER saw this 'MacMillan Nurse' again.

We were helpless that afternoon. I wish I had called the G.P. at that point!

Thank God, the night nurse of the night before returned to the Palliative Care ward on Tom's last night. She resumed the extra morphine injections, changed his bed and fitted another conveen to his penis and padded him up at the back.

Then the day staff on duty at 8.30a.m. 11/1/06 2 hours before Thomas died would NOT give him anything as he twisted and turned, pulling the sheets of his death bed.

It was down to me, his daughter, to call the G.P. to say that we had been promised he would not be allowed to suffer BUT HE WAS SUFFERING on that dreadful Palliative Care ward at the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield.

During our time on that shambolic ward, the things we NEVER saw include:
Water was NEVER offered or supplied.
Mouthcare which should be standard Palliative Care practice was NEVER offered.
The nurses NEVER came to see Thomas to generally observe him. The ONLY time they came to his bedside was when WE went to ask for help at the nurses station.
Night time drinks were NEVER offered. What has happened to the 'Ovaltine Round'? The other patients were not at Death's door. (I fetched hot drinks from the vending machine for a patient opposite my father and I also straightened this patient's bed sheets each time he got up and went to the toilet).

EVERYTHING seemed too much trouble for the majority of the nurses on the Palliative Care ward, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield.

Some sort of comfort has come from the Patients Association Report - knowing we are not alone - but comfort should not have to be gained this way!

We didn't know at the time that the Sheffield University had conducted a research programme about Palliative Care 6 months prior to Thomas Milner ending up on that poor quality Palliative Care ward.
The report concluded that the 'Elderly are being denied a dignified death on Palliative Care wards'.

Read here - Elderly being denied a Dignified Death

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The Telegraph headline 30/12/08 'NHS Hospitals suffering from lack of compassion'.
Niall Dickson of the King's Fund said "If we can't get compassion into our healthcare, the system is failing. It's as fundamental as that."

Read here - Niall Dickson of the King's Fund talking about lack of compassion in the NHS

Suffering has no boundaries, neither should compassion.

GOD HELP US ALL AND SHAME ON THEM!

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