Wednesday, 6 November 2013
With 33 years’ experience in health and social care Suzan Collins
believed she could ensure good care for her mother, and her family relied on
her to do so. She was actually delivering training on best practice when she
was first contacted with the news her mother had broken her leg at her nursing
home and been transferred to hospital.
This is the story of what followed- the gradual revelation of a whole
ongoing chain of bad practice and poor care that Suzan, with all her knowledge
and experience of ‘the system’, could not influence.
In this highly topical book, Suzan shares her story from her personal
and professional perspectives and looks ahead to how we can all contribute to
keeping vulnerable people in health and social care system safe from harm.
Extract:
‘I was sitting
in the dining room of a care service, waiting for my NVQ candidate to finish
what she was doing. Whilst waiting, I took in what was happening in this room.
There was quiet talk between various people at different tables. It was happy
talk. One mother was telling her daughter how happy she was living there.
Another lady, with dementia, was being supported by a staff member. Another was
being quietly helped into her wheelchair and leaving the room. Staff spoke at a
level that the individual could hear. I was good at picking up on body language
and at that moment I could say that the individuals, staff and the relatives –
everyone in that room at that particular time – were happy to be at the home
and happy with the home.
Three days
later I was back at this home to see a different candidate. He told me how he
had supported a lady that morning with end-of-life care. Those words hit me
hard and it took me back to the poor end-of-life care my mother had received
when she was dying.
The candidate
told me he ‘felt privileged’ to give personal care to a lady who was confined
to bed and leaving this world. Why, oh why, could Mum not have had someone like
him to help her when she was dying in hospital? I swallowed hard and told him
how lovely that was. He took it in his stride; he didn’t realise how good he
was at his job and how much the people he supported valued him.’
Beyond My Control
tells the story of my mother’s ordeal and the efforts I and my family made to
put things right. It is also intended to show what good practices are, and what
to do when things go wrong. Suzan has provided practical advice at the end of
many of the chapters and in an appendix at the end of the book to show what
you, the reader, can do to stop something this bad happening to you.
Where to purchase:
Where you can find Suzan:
Twitter: @suzancollins
Blog:
Suzan has very kindly agreed to give an ebook copy of Beyond My Control to one person who leaves a comment. So please leave a comment before you go and Suzan will pop by and choose someone.
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