Source: Radio New Zealand
Judith Campbell and her granddaughter Emma. Supplied
- Family rosters themselves on for shifts looking after elderly relative in hospital.
- Despite suffering severe dementia the family worried about the standard of her care.
- Another elderly hospital patient was left alone and suffering, his wife says.
The family of an elderly woman with severe dementia were so concerned about the standard of her hospital care that they rostered themselves on shifts to look after her.
And for another severely ill elderly man, what was scheduled as a short hospital stay for a routine operation ended with him catching norovirus and losing over 10kg.
His wife said the worst part of it all was that he was left to suffer alone in soiled bedding.
These two cases have put the spotlight on the care of elderly patients.
Judith’s family say they had to try to get her mobile enough to return to her aged-care facility after she broke her hip. Supplied
When Judith Campbell broke her hip in January, she ended up staying over a fortnight in Nelson Hospital.
“We had to be there every day to ensure she was fed, given medication and showered,” said her daughter, Jan Fryer.
“We had to do all those things for her and couldn’t get her back into her care home as she wasn’t mobile, so she was in a very unsatisfactory situation and died three weeks later.”
And Otago woman Bev – who has asked RNZ not to use her surname – recalled her husband Ross’ visit to Dunedin Hospital in late 2023.
“When as a patient for a proposed 48 hours he contracted norovirus, [he] left the hospital 12 kilograms lighter.
“Despite vomiting and constant diarrhoea and sweating profusely his bed linen was not changed in five days.”
The pair contacted Checkpoint after hearing of concerns about aged care, which prompted Health NZ to acknowledge a system under pressure as the population aged.
Health NZ was contacted several times over recent months for this story, but hasn’t yet responded.
Family’s bedside vigil
Campbell was blind and had severe dementia.
Fryer was fed up with telling every new staff member how to handle her, so she didn’t fight or spit when she wasn’t sure what was going on, the family instead decided to always stay at her bedside, apart from when she slept overnight.
Judith Campbell died this year, aged 88. She worked in the health industry herself, including as a physiotherapist. Supplied
“For the two weeks she was in hospital we had to take shifts, between my daughter – who works for us, luckily, so I was able to give her time off – myself and my 90-year-old father, and my sister also came over from Australia.
“We took shifts to be there all day with her to make sure she got food, she got her medication and she got cleaned.”
Fryer said that wasn’t happening before they were there.
Staff had also tried to administer pain relief through pills, causing Campbell distress, despite instructions to give it in liquid form.
And the family ended up taking Campbell for walks and trying themselves to get her mobile enough to return to her aged-care facility.
“She just wasn’t getting fed. They would put her food on a tray and just leave it there. She couldn’t see so she couldn’t feed herself.
“She ended up with very loose bowel motions, so then we’d find her lying in poo.”
Campbell died in February, aged 88.
Fryer didn’t make a complaint, saying her sister, a doctor, told her it wasn’t worth it.
“I was saddened – just sad that New Zealand’s health system has deteriorated so much that we’re not getting good care when we need it.”
Patient left alone and in distress
For Bev, 13 December 2023, was supposed to be when her husband Ross began a two-day hospital stay in Dunedin to drain his lung.
He had the aggressive cancer mesothelioma, and in hospital caught norovirus.
Bev said after that her husband was mostly left alone in an isolation room, lying in soiled sheets.
She was also concerned about hygiene measures – such as nurses giving Ross pain relief tablets from the palms of their hands, rather than containers.
“He was clearly really suffering. He couldn’t eat or drink. They didn’t make any effort to give him fluid through an IV and the smell in the room after four days was horrendous,” Bev said.
She caught the stomach bug too and had to stay away a couple of days. On her return she couldn’t believe the condition Ross was in.
“I was so shocked at how ill he was and how weak he was. He could not stand up to get out of bed. He could not stand up unaided.
“When I realised how much weight he’d lost it was no wonder.”
Ross had lost 12kg and Bev decided it was best to bring him home and look after him there.
He never recovered from the ill-effects of norovirus and died in February 2024, aged 78.
“It’s left me feeling really angry and quite concerned about care for others, including myself.”
She wrote a complaint but said she never heard back.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
