Advice Needed Re Elderley Next Door Neighbour

joanne0620

Thank you all for your advice & encouragement with this difficult situation. :T

I just wanted to update you on the latest developments. A social worker attended Miss T's home on Tuesday and then asked the District Nurse to see her yesterday, I have just had the District Nurse on the phone telling me what she found when she visited Miss T.

She said she was dressed exactly as I described, the house is filthy, there was no food in any of the cupboards. Contrary to what I thought Miss T does not sleep in the kitchen & she showed the DN her bedroom, the DN said she has never seen anything like it in 35 years in the job, apparently Miss T has a bed (of sorts) it's basically springs with newspaper on the top! :eek:

She agrees with me & Mrs S that there is definetely cause for concern but obviously they have to tread carefully otherwise Vera may just refuse to answer the door to them in future, she knows who Miss T GP is and has refered her to him and he will be visiting her on Monday.

Hopefully I will have some more positive news again on Monday.

Addiscomber

Well done.

hollydays

well done for not giving up.

Penny_Watcher

Good for you Joanne :T Well Done.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Really pleased to hear you were successful in getting someone to visit your neighbour. But I'm horrified that the District Nurse broke patient confidentiality in describing your neighbour's living circumstances to you,

margaretclare

Dora_the_Explorer wrote:

Really pleased to hear you were successful in getting someone to visit your neighbour. But I'm horrified that the District Nurse broke patient confidentiality in describing your neighbour's living circumstances to you,

Yes, that occurred to me too - given that I was a district nurse myself in the 1970s. It was an absolute no-no, and to see her first name on a forum like this which anyone can access.

Margaret

joanne0620

That was rather thoughtless of me to put her name in the post and have now edited it.

To be fair to the DN, the only thing she disclosed that I didn't already know was regarding Miss T's sleeping situation, which as it turns out I am in a position to help with (if she will allow it & the suggestion comes from the DN). DH & I are getting a new mattress for our bed next week (there is nothing really wrong with the old one! ) so I am going to suggest to the DN that Miss T has the old one if she will accept it. She may well refuse but at least I have offered, it would be a shame for it to go to the tip when Miss T has a completely inadequate bed.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

joanne0620 wrote:

That was rather thoughtless of me to put her name in the post and have now edited it.

To be fair to the DN, the only thing she disclosed that I didn't already know was regarding Miss T's sleeping situation, which as it turns out I am in a position to help with (if she will allow it & the suggestion comes from the DN). DH & I are getting a new mattress for our bed next week (there is nothing really wrong with the old one! ) so I am going to suggest to the DN that Miss T has the old one if she will accept it. She may well refuse but at least I have offered, it would be a shame for it to go to the tip when Miss T has a completely inadequate bed.

Joanne you've done a sterling job and clearly continue to be a good neighbnour. The District Nurse should have told you nothing you didn't already know and in no way confimed to you what you suspected. Disclosing anything about a patient to anyone without the patient having first given their consent is not only a breach of confidentiality but a breach of duty of csre.
Your offer of your old mattress may be helpful, but your neighbour may realise that the District Nurse has been gossipping to you about her if you yourself haven't seen her sleeping arrangements.

jen_jen_2

to be fair to the DN she may have asked the elderly neighbour if she could update OP because she had been worried.

there is a food delivery place that provides a freezer and microwave and fortnightly food, it has to be paid for, £30 for 14 meals and puddings but food is nice (i have tasted it) there is roast dinners, salmon, chips - a wide variety, simple to cook and delivered to the door, perhaps your neighbour would be interested. Whiltshire Farms - some of the people at work have this for their parents.

STORM_2

Dear J,

Well done! You persistance and kindness may have just saved that ladies life.