Relatives to take part in patient care?

[Spellbound454]

Hospital visiting times should be extended so patients' relatives can become more involved in their care, the Royal College of Nursing has said.

RCN head Peter Carter said he did not want relatives performing tasks nurses were employed to carry out, but that there were "real benefits" for patients when family members helped with care.

The Department of Health said family help needed to be alongside NHS care.

But patients' groups warned such a move could be "the tip of the iceberg".

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15052636
............................................................................................................

As relative Id love to go along at mealtimes and help give my relative their food.......We are often treated as an inconvenience and it might be nice to do something useful.

What do you think?

[starlight07]

Shouldn't relatives be already taking care of their family members? I know what you mean by being treated as an inconvenience. It's not taken in the best light and I don't know if you know this but Asians do tend to visit in flocks too.

Yes, I quite like the idea of extended visiting times though I reckon most of the time will be spent on providing comfort and moral support for those that need care (or the most feeding them) during the visiting times rather than nursing to the extent of carrying out nurse duties.

[Spellbound454]

I know that Asians look after their own and I think that is something admirable that we may have overlooked in other communities.

I can remember sitting at a relatives bedside feeling a bit like a spare part and would have liked to become more involved in his care...
As a mother I've a natural caring instinct, which I'm sure many of us have and have been taking care of people since I was a kid (our infirm grandma was looked after at home and I was expected to take my shift).
We have organised visiting rotas between us before, to support our hopitalised relative...there would be no reason why they couldn't have coincided with mealtimes etc.
We would have enjoyed that.

[Forever Sunshine]

IMO, there shouldn't be a restriction on immediate family members' visiting times. Friends and distant relatives, perhaps. When my Mother was in the nursing home, there were few restrictions. I was there almost 24 / 7. Sometimes, because she grabbed a hold of me and absolutely would not let go. LOL But the nursing staff at the home was very accommodating. They were actually surprised to see me and my siblings there so much as most families, according to the staff, drop the parent off and never look back.

How sad

[Spellbound454]

I think there is a bit of a problem especially on old peoples wards.

People are busy, or they live a long way away and our families are more disparate now then they ever were.

We moved away before our kids were born but they did miss out on not having grandparents involved in their lives....and we missed out because there were no baby sitters or next of kin apart from us.

When the grandparents did become ill.....we arrived too late.

Its a shame but some areas of the UK are quite depressed and you have to move the where the work is.

[piropo2]

Here there is no restriction on visiting times at all, relatives can even stay overnight if they wish, and some do, sleeping in armchairs provided in the wards, which are all 2 patients per room, with on suite.

Those that dont stay overnight start arriving around 7am, they help patients with there showers, etc., feed, generally take responsability for the patients general care, allowing the nurses to do the nursing side.

It is not compulsory, but a lot of families undertake this themselves, and it seems to work well.

[moxie]

For the high cost of a hospital stay, I expect my family members to be well taken care of when they are there. My Dad was admitted one time on a Wednesday and on Saturday, he called us to ask if we could come in and shave and shower him. In that time, I don't think he even had a bed bath! The staff, including the aides, were ALL sitting around computers at the nurses' station. I had to ask for someone to fill his water pitcher as it was empty and I didn't have access to ice as it was in an "off-limits" area. He was on a "push liquids" order, yet no water in his pitcher! We were disgusted! This wasn't the first time either as both of my parents have been admitted to this same hospital and patient care is TRULY LACKING!! There is no such thing as bedside manner anymore because it is RARE to even get someone to your bedside AT ALL these days!! After the last admission, it was decided that we would no longer use this hospital. My Dad didn't even get checked on by his OWN physician while he was there (almost a week).
At one time, it was considered one of the top hospitals in the area...hard to believe they would get much more than a mediocre rating anymore. Lots of complaints from others I have spoken to with regard to this same place. Word must be traveling fast as two other competing hospitals are building more clinics of their own. GOOD PATIENT CARE IS MOSTLY A THING OF THE PAST...YOU NEED TO ADVOCATE FOR YOUR LOVED ONES.

[Spellbound454]

That seems a bit much moxie seeing as how hospital expenses are high in the US.
I would have thought you could have expected a bit more of a bedside manner.
If they don't provide the service they will lose business to other hospitals.

We are a bit different in that we go to out local hospital....Its a bit basic and you have to be practically at deaths door to get a bed... but in theory they should all offer similar services.
I had major stomach surgery and was discharged before I was ready....didn't have enough pain medication and it was left to my 14 year old daughter to look after me.....which was a bit of an ask.