Friday 15 January 2010

Twitter & Care Homes

Well l have tried to go all posh. I have had mobile internet put on my phone and trying to get used to using it, as it is very slow by comparison to a landline this is taking time.
The l got even posher and decided to set Twitter up with the thoughts that l could do fill ins while l was on duty and stole 5 minutes loo time,usually the quiet area where l can catch a quick break and not be called.It really is "time in loo".
I am back on duty this evening so will see how l get on with twittering or tweeting.
We are due phone upgrades in February and march and l am dithering over the iphone 3gs and the blackberry bold 9700. If anyone has those 2 please let me know what you think of them. The phones are a let down on both and l can not decide which to get. Bold has better write up but smaller screen. iphone mixed reviews but bigger screen.

My Dad is in the care home, they are great. As l said before not the most up to date building but they care. My dad is in the lounge/dinning room all day, they are big on tea and it is just about on tap there. Even we get offered in the second breath after hi. Apparently the food is very good, it is all cooked fresh on the premises
There has been a few muddles with his clothes as they were not marked up but the carers labelled them up for us yesterday.
The cost is a lot less as well as my parents only have to part fund it as opposed to full fund. Again a big relief.

The same praise cannot be said of the hospital and his arrival. Last Monday amid all the blizzards in the north west the care home had said their drive up a slope was undrivable and the roads not good. I notified the hospital and left things up to them. On the monday evening when we visited my dad we dropped a bag of warm clothes off for when he moved.

I confirmed with the care home similar situation on Tuesday and again told the hospital, being as how my dad was due to go to the CH on Tuesday.
At about 17:30 l got a call from the ward sister saying they had a land-rover ambulance and were going to take my dad over. I was worried about this but assured all would be well and they would ring the CH.
We went in on Wednesday and were told of the "arrival". The ward sister rang the care home and said we insisted my dad was moved now. The CH were not happy but said well if it is safe, and again assured of the land rover.

At about 19:00 the carers heard a vehicle and went out. There was a transit people mover unloading my dad and his wheelchair in a blizzard, the driver refused to help the 2 girls get my dad inside and they only had indoor shoes on. They had to haul the wheelchair up the slope of a long drive. To make things worse my dad had a thin hospital blanket over his legs and the half open scrub suit he used as pyjamas. They left the warm clothes in a bag. He had been hauled out of bed, put in a wheelchair and pushed straight to the van.
This is a 92year old with severe disability, suffers chest infections, has just been on drips and treatment, body weight about 45kgs no fat, has no proper temperature regulation and struggles to stay warm.

Thankfully he is fine. I have been dithering about complaining as doubt sod all will be done.

4 comments:

Roses said...

Good luck with the technology. I can just about get my head around using the phone for calls, texts and pictures.

Good to hear your dad is settling in and is well in the care home.

Appalling that the hospital delivered him so badly. You should complain. They do have to take complaints seriously and if he fell seriously ill after that debacle after being so poorly....

They have no right to take risks with his health.

JuliaM said...

"l am dithering over the iphone 3gs and the blackberry bold 9700. If anyone has those 2 please let me know what you think of them."

I've got the 3GS, and I love it. It's very easy to use (user-friendliness being Apple's watchword) and intuitive.

The advantages: The useability as above.

And the app options are beyond compare. For once, the adverts don't lie. There really is an app for everything, and most of them are cheap or free.

The fact that it functions as a movie player/game station/iPod is a definite plus! No idea what the Blackberry's capability is in that field, though.

The drawbacks - as you say, the phone capability doesn't get a good rating on either, but I haven't found this myself. I wonder how many of those poor ratings concentrate on arcane differences that the average user doesn't see?

The camera isn't wonderful compared to other mobiles, but it's adequate if taking snaps with your phone isn't a priority.

Oh, and the biggest drawback (if you use it mostly for browsing or media playing, as I do) is battery life. Get a second charger for work as well as home. You'll need it!

JuliaM said...

"I have been dithering about complaining as doubt sod all will be done. "

Probably correct, sad to say...

But there's always the chance that this time, something will be done. And it will help you feel that you've done something, rather than accept this shabby treatment.

Vetnurse said...

I have spoken to the hospital, to complain my dad has to agree as they need to check his records. The home is happy to back things up although agree it is probably a waste of time. Ny dad was wary but said he would read it first.

Thanks for the phone info Julia l have a couple of months to decide and then you have a 2 week period to test it so it may well come down to those 2 weeks.
I am open to all info though, l hate decisions!