Elder Protection

Breaking the Silence on Elder Abuse!

31st August 2007
A Wifes Fight Against Elder Abuse

Ely man, John Stephen Tester B.E.M. passed peacefully away at his home in Bell Holt on the 17th August, thanks to the devotion of his wife June who fought against the system, which denied John his dignity and basic human rights.
John, 90 years of age was admitted to Addenbrookes Hospital G4 on July 3rd with a chest infection and dehydration after being told that he could not be treated at home. The next 5 weeks would see John lose his dignity and his own will to live because of the system, this system is called Ignore the Elderly and Save Money for the NHS or Primary Care Trust
Lets be clear that Addenbrookes Hospital is the finest when it comes to Medical Treatment, but when you enter the elderly wards you are stripped of your dignity and are just a burden to the system.
This became clear to June, her daughter Pamela and others as they visited John over the next few days as John became visibly unclean, unshaven with loss of weight as meals were just left in front of him to go cold until the Nutritional assistant got round to helping him eat a spoonful or two. (This Nutritional assistant was dedicated to her patients but was outweighed by the number of patients who needed her help with eating) June would ensure she was always at the hospital for lunch times to help John get something to eat or drink before it either went cold or was whipped away . John wanted to go home but doctors wanted him moved to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Ely for a while, however the PWH refused to take him on the grounds that they had no available beds so John was kept at Addenbrookes.
(It is understood that the Prince of Wales Hospital had plenty of empty beds, but because they want to merge the wards decreasing the number of beds available to the elderly saving money for the Primary Care Trust, elderly patients are turned away, this is still happening today elderly patients are blocking beds in Addenbrookes because the Prince of Wales Ely and Brookfields Hospital Cambridge want to save money by cutting the number of beds for elderly patients)
June could not stomach the conditions her beloved John was being subjected too any longer, she raised her voice against the abuse, and doctors and nursing staff jumped but it only lasted the time June was on the ward she couldn�t be there 24/7
Each day June would arrive and start all over again, but John was losing his will to live and became unresponsive, he wasn�t eating or drinking, he was facing malnutrition and physical discomfort exacerbated by his inability to communicate his needs, and one lunch time June marched up to a group of doctors and nurses chatting and demanded; Whats wrong with you people isnt John dying quick enough for you that you dont bother to feed or give him drinks? Within minutes John was back on a drip and the ward was again a hive of activity.
June had promised John that he would return home and doctors were now telling her that medically there was no reason John could not return home as long as she could cope, however it wasn�t going to be that easy to get John home and June would have to fight for a further two and a half weeks before John was to get his wish.

What we found at Addenbrookes during Johns stay was patients not having baths or showers, hair was not washed, family visitors found themselves having to shave patients, doctors would talk in front of elderly patients about their predicted death as if they didn�t exist, and when asked to go elsewhere to talk about these things families were bundled into rooms being used for storage, conditions suffered by the elderly such as dementia, arthritis and sensory impairment are routinely overlooked by staff because of the pressure they are working under making it impossible to dedicate the quality of care so needed by elderly, dying patients. Ignored and resented for being a burden yet it wasn�t the fault of the nurses who in all honesty did their best to cope in conditions imposed on them by NHS money pinching managers.
Funding was now the problem keeping John, blocking his bed as John was now in need of 24/7 palliative care, a number of meetings were held and promises made to June that the necessary equipment and care would be organised immediately, yet still nothing positive was happening. June organised her own carers and was adamant that John would go home within the next few days, on Thursday 9th August yet another hospital meeting was held with social services who eventually agreed to fund John�s 24/7 palliative home care as doctors were only giving John 4/5 days of life expectancy.

Friday 10th August, John arrived home and when the ambulance doors opened John saw his wife and daughter waiting for him, amazingly after weeks of no responsive actions in hospital John waved bringing tears to Junes eyes, John knew he had got his wish and was home at last. (It was also Junes birthday and what better gift than seeing your loved ones dignity returned)
The following 24 hours saw an amazing transformation in John for the family as he managed to eat and drink a little, something he hadn't done in hospital for days, sadly on Sunday John slipped into a semi sleep which continued until he passed peacefully away exactly one week to the day of arriving home.
An elderly gentlemans dignity had been returned to him, but with much ado about the cost of caring for him at home, and even with the return home being planned by doctors and social workers if it had not been for the dedicated care staff from Nightingales Professional Care of Ely, John, would not have seen any qualified nursing staff until the Tuesday, 4 days after coming home, was it Friday evening and no one was interested till Monday? Or is that, the real truth of caring for the elderly that will be kicked out of hospital to save money to pay the Fat Cats of Cambridgeshire PCT or NHS? Fend for yourself and we will see you on Monday if youre still living!!!

In April 2006 the government made a pledge to end NHS elderly abuse with zero tolerance of neglect and abuse of older people in hospitals and care homes.
In 2003 the government announced it was investing �12m over a three-year period in its End of Life Care Programme, designed to provide better training to health professionals.

The government fail to deliver on its promise to improve elderly care, real dignity for the elderly will only come with real commitment to real change, not headline seeking initiatives and certainly not by closing elderly wards or denying elderly patients beds in the hope of saving money.
Like June Tester you can either make a difference on elder abuse and help break the silence on what the elderly suffer every day or you can sit back and ignore it until its your turn to experience it first hand,
Remember - We all grow old!!

June Tester with Ed from Elder Protection, Breaking the Silence on Elder Abuse