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The elusive district nurse
• I AM the carer of a 45-year-old woman who was released from hospital on December 19 after the surgical removal of an abscess that has to be cleaned and dressed every day.
Before she left the hospital they tried in vain to get in contact with the district nurses, so she was given dressings from the ward she was on.
Since she came home she has only been seen by district nurses twice in 10 days. As this lady is wheelchair-bound it is important for the wound to be looked after.
She went to the Marie Curie centre which she attends for another problem and they also tried for two days to call and fax the district nurses without success.
The GP also called them after a few days and she received a phone call at 8pm on Christmas Eve to say one was coming to see her and do the dressing on Christmas Day. The dressing was done and that was that. The lady was not told when the nurse would be back to do the dressing.
The next time they turned up was Sunday 28th and she was agency and actually spoke to the patient about the wound and agreed with me that it needed to be changed every day. Once again today, December 29, no sign of anyone to change the dressing.
It’s getting ridiculous when carers have to do the job of district nurses just to make sure that the person they look after does not get an infection and land back in hospital.
Name and address supplied
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