medical care

[blade1jet2]

Bednobs thanx for your answer regarding my dads consultant i have full power of attorney and as this hospital has made mistakes with my dad in the past i do not trust that they are acting in my dads best interest as i no my dad would do better on a feeding tube as every time we give him fluids he drinks them yet the nurses say they cant get him to drink this is where we dont agree

[bednobs]

hi, do you have power of attourney for personal welfare as well as personal property/assets? (they are 2 different things) and is it registered with the court of protection?

from what you say it sounds like your dad is conscious - does that mean he would be able to be asked what his views are and give a ratioonal answer? even by squeezing your hand if he cant talk (ie once for yes, twice for no)

the problem you will hve is that even if you do have the proper power of attourney in place and he HAS lost capacity, you will still only be abe to decide aboutthings that would have been offered to him, and it might be that feeding tube wouldnt be appropriate or offered to him even if he did have capacity. an analogy would be that he or you couldnt demand a heart bypass operation if it was neither appropriate or needed. Is he ia terminal illness situation? i only ask because previously i worked as a macmillan nurse, and relatives often asked about feeding as it is a really improtant part of life, and it was a very hard thing for relatives to let go of, even when it was completely inappropriate or unnecassary.

[bednobs]

whatever the answers to the above questions are, there is no situation that cannot be improved with communication - have you had a meeting with the consultant to hear his or her reasons for their decisions? You might understand mre if you could havean open minded discussion with them, and they might understand more of your side. If you want someone independent with you, you can ask thehospitals Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) to arrange the meeting and come along with you, even as just another pair of ears. Theey are as independent as nhs employees can be,and my experience is that they always have the patient at the centre of things. To contact them either ust phone the hospital switch or ask the ward staff. it is a first step and they can often act quickly and informally. Whatever you decide i would recmmend you keep contemporaneus notes of everything cause memory is notoriously tricky!
if it is a terminal illness situation, is he being seen by a palliative care team?

[blade1jet2]

thanx for your information am going to see my dads consultant today p.o.a has been registered with the court.
dads is very ill fell in hospital and broke his hip since the hip operation he has,nt been the same.
He as problems swallowing food and it looks like it hurts him to swallow the family think he might have had another
small stroke which has effected his swallow.
Hospital staff thing he has just giving up thats were they
problem is the family dont because when we visit dad he
takes small drinks for us if you prompt him to swallow.
Has he is now lossing weight very quickly i would like him
to be feed thro a tube

[bednobs]

i cant really comment much more because i dont know your circumstances intimatley. i hope you get the answer you want today at your meeting