- Abigail Jones a 70-year old lady was found collapsed with a dense hemiparesis at home by home care worker and brought into A&E. Her husband had suddenly died a few months before and the family did not have time to see him before he had died
- The family are informed of lady’s admission by A&E and they rush to hospital, The traffic is heavy and they have to park 20 minutes walk away from hospital. They arrive in A&E and are told their mother has just been moved up to the stroke unit. A&E had been trying to contact them by telephone to inform them of the lady’s transfer
- They arrive on the stroke unit after having to ask several people for directions. They ask a doctor where the patient is (this doctor doesn’t work on the ward so directs them to the ward desk, but no-one is at the desk) and it takes a minute or two before a student nurse comes up to the desk and asks whether she can help them
- By now the family are frustrated, distraught, crying and abrupt with staff. The son is angry and the daughter is crying
The scenario is about expressing understanding and sympathy to family, diffusing the tension and supporting the family.
- If this sort of situation is familiar to you, think about practical ways that the hospital might help e.g. clear signage from A&E to acute stroke unit, designated quiet room for team/family conversations, staff members to take families from A&E to acute stroke unit, waiving car parking charges for families visiting patients on the stroke unit
The Jones family arrive on the ward. The first person they see is a student nurse. The student nurse has been asked by the trained staff to look out for the family arriving. They are obviously distressed. The daughter is crying and the son looks angry and is shouting ‘Where is our mum?’
The student nurse asks who they have come to see. (The student nurse does not know Mrs Jones well and feels that it’s not appropriate to speak to the family in any detail about the patient’s condition) In the meantime she smiles, is polite and avoids appearing to be defensive. She maintains eye contact then explains she will get a more senior nurse to speak to them. Given that the patient is very unwell, she takes the family to see their mum immediately. She explains that their mum is very unwell to prepare them a little for what they will see.
The family become more distressed when they see their mother lying on the bed unresponsive. Her son is even angrier and the daughter is still crying. A staff nurse and doctor take them into a quiet room and the doctor leaves her bleep at the nurse’s station to avoid interruptions. Offer a cup of tea if this seems appropriate.
Page last reviewed: 16 Jan 2023
