Talking to us about your/your loved one’s condition

No one knows yourself or your loved one more than you and the people who care about them. We recognise that patients and carers can sometimes see the early subtle signs of their loved one’s condition is getting worse, often before healthcare professionals.

Please do not feel that raising a concern will negatively affect your care in any way.

The nursing team on the unit will be asking if you are worried about your condition each time, they do observations and they are your first point of contact.

However, if you are concerned and cannot find a member of nursing team, please feel free to raise your concern with any member of the team on the ward.

It is helpful for staff if you can describe your concern in as much detail as possible. The following may be helpful pointers.

Behaviour

Are you/they:

• confused or muddled
• irritable or in an odd mood
• sounding different
• more sleepy
• quieter than normal
• moving around a lot or staying very still
• appearing to be in pain or discomfort.

Breathing

Are you/they:

• breathing faster or slower
• working harder to breathe
• making noises when you/they breathe.

Appearance

Do you/they look:

• more pale than usual or more flushed than usual
• blotchy, or have rashes or marks on your/their body
• puffy
• sweaty.

Bodily function

Are there differences in your/their:

• pee or poo
• eating or drinking
• have you/they started vomiting.

When you raise a concern with the ward team, we will:

• assess you/the patient
• carry out a set of observations
• escalate your concern appropriately
• create a plan with you to address your concern.