Hello all, I’m extremely new to this and just looking for advice I suppose. My Nan was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in December and has been in and out of hospital ever since. She is currently in hospital but being referred to a hospice for end of life care.
I suppose my question is, while she has all her faculties and knows what is happening and can retain information (for the most part), why are the nurses not listening to her in hospital when she has repeatedly told them that she cannot swallow?
She is struggling swallowing hard food as it hurts and has told the nurses this. They have not altered her diet or asked us about it. I have gone today and brought this to the attention of the staff and they have immediately changed her diet and switched her to coated tablets.
I don’t want to be judgemental, I know the NHS is really stretched right now, but my Nan is of sound mind and can speak for herself (really quietly), why would they only listen to relatives?
Hi LesterNorpe I am so sorry to hear about your Nan. This must be very upsetting for her to feel that she is not being listened to. Our NHS is stretched right now, but that is not a good enough reason for them to ignore someone. What I can tell you is your Nan will be treated very differently at the hospice. There used to be a lot of fear around the word hospice, as this was once just a place to go to die, but it is far more than that now. I don’t want your Nan to worry about going to the hospice, She will be treated with the upmost respect and dignity, and really will give her the best care.
