Second Helpings

I Don't Believe it

Every day a district nurse calls to apply eye drops and change the dressings on hubby's face. As the days pass it's becoming a case of guess who will arrive on the doorstep, as so far we've seen a different nurse almost every day. Despite the fact we are supposed to be living in times when all patient information is accessible on computers and the fact we have copious amounts of files and paperwork amongst all the medication and dressings, none of them are familiar with hubby's case. It gets rather wearing explaining what's been wrong with him, why he was in intensive care, what he needs doing and why he has a hole in his throat and a bandage over his eye. But consistency and communication are not words I associate with medical matters.

Yesterday we hit a new brick wall. A young nurse we haven't seen before arrived and yet again we went through the whole rigmarole described above. Eventually we established he needed cream and eye drops in his left eye, so I duly went to the fridge to fetch the medication. The nurse looked at it, shuffled through a few pieces of paper, then announced she couldn't administer the drops as there was no official prescription from the doctor's surgery. We pointed out others had done it for the past week and there was a letter in the file from the hospital about the treatment needed. But no, little miss prim and proper declared anyone could have written that and she could not legally apply the drops without permission from the surgery. It might endanger her job. Stalemate.

I was rather shocked when she asked hubby if he could do it himself.

The man's only spent two weeks flat on his back on life support, has one eye botoxed shut and limited sight in the other and can barely hold a knife and fork for shaking. Besides aren't you paid for being a nurse?

Then she asked why I couldn't do it.

Despite the fact I'm not qualified and would fear doing something wrong, I'm full of a cold I don't wish to pass on and not really wishing to witness the inch deep moat and gunge around hubby's eye. Besides aren't you paid for being a nurse?

Eventually she capitulated and applied the drops, cream and changed the dressing, but I'm left wondering what sort of a state we're reaching when professionals are more concerned about red tape, legal action and paperwork than they are about patients.

So, this morning we await a visit from a nurse and it's anyone's guess which one it will be, how many questions she'll need to ask and what problems there'll be with the treatment.

I'm thinking if they supply me with some Novocaine, a knife, some scissors and a needle and thread maybe I coud do the skin grafting myself and save them all any hassle.