This is a very similar thing to when we see cases such as Baby P, Victoria Climbie etc, in their cases social workers copped the flak when in the main social workers are doing a pretty good job (certainly the ones I know) under an increasing and stressful workload.
I can speak from the experience of my old mum who sadly passed away 4 years ago. Up to her reaching 80 she was pretty hale & heartly, did all her own shopping, housework, was involved with a number of clubs and societies, plus volunteer stuff she did for her local church. She first started to suffer with Menieres Disease which is not unlike Tinnitus, but also gave her great problems in both balance and simple acts like walking around the house. As a consequence she had a number of falls and tumbles at home. Luckily her neighbours were brilliant and would they would always look in her a couple of times a day so if she did have a fall she'd be found in fairly quick time. The problem here was that she lost all confidence and would barely venture over the threshold of her house. I would do her shopping, collect her pension etc on a Saturday, we got her a panic alarm, meals on wheels etc etc. She just steadily got worse and her falls became more frequent. I once called her doctor as he'd refused to come out and see her, he advised me to see her and call him to say what her symptoms were. I advised him that I was in the freight business and wouldn't expect a doctor to advise me on how to ship cargo around the world, he was soon round to see her.
The upshot really was that she had a fall going to bed one night, she didn't have her panic alarm on so she spent the night on the floor luckily she wrapped herself in the duvet. Her neighbour found her the next morning, called an ambulance and she was admitted to hospital, and she never came home again. She was at times in Rochford & Benfleet Wards at Southend General and without exception the medical staff, consultants, doctors & nurses were brilliant. Eventually she it was discovered she had a brain tumour and quite rightly the doctors would not do any invasive surgery. Therefore it was a matter of time, with social care we had arranged for her to go home and spend her last days there. We were given a hospital bed, plus it was agreed that a nurse would call IIRC 4 times a day, we'd sorted as best we could her toilet arrangements, plus we'd got meals on wheels back, and her neighbours would as ever call in regularly.
Unfortunately she didn't manage to come home passing away a few days before she was due to be released from hospital. My point is that she received wonderful, sympathetic and respectful treatment from all sides, from social care, to her medics and above all the fantastic nurses who always had time for her.
If I have a criticism it is of the way older / geriatric wards are arranged, it's like God's waiting room in a gerry ward. I don't know what the solution is to this if in fact there is one. All I know is my mum was treated wonderfully and I hope that when my time comes I'll be lucky enough to be treated in the same way. Although my preference would be to go the way of John Entwhistle, with a Vegas tart, a nose full of coke & a bottle of JD.
