Doris Testa felt lost and desperate when she was discharged from hospital and made to feel as if an empty bed was more important than a person.
When the woman lost her independency to a stroke some six weeks ago she was overwhelmed with a fear of being alone.
“And nobody informed me about what to expect once discharged. I was just told an ‘assessor’ would come by my house but when you’re going through a trauma you do not understand what an ‘assessor’ is. It felt as if nobody was hearing my concerns,” Ms Testa said during a primary health conference organised by the nurses and midwives’ union.
Ms Testa made it clear that she was treated very well at the hospital, however, she felt “alone and frightened” when discharged. But, the next morning, nursing officer Sharon Martinelli from Com Care knocked on her door.
Com Care is a service provided by an interdisciplinary team of 20 people, kick-started by nursing officer Sharon Martinelli in 2005. It provides reassurance, guidance about other community services and physical help to dependent people, like dressing and showering.
Speaking during the conference, Ms Martinelli asked whether patients are given the time and space to express their feelings.
She agreed that patients were sometimes given a lot of information to absorb and carers had to be more sensitive. Com Care, she added, looked at the people behind the patients by empowering, supporting and listening to them.
Emergency and accident nurse Paul Calleja also spoke about the importance of accompanying a patient on his journey from admission to post discharge. He expressed concern about discharge planning and community care. Patients were often discharged quickly because of the high demand of beds and felt at a loss if they were not informed about recovery services, he said.
He suggested the introduction of community liaison nurses who would accompany the patient on his journey from admission to post-discharge and make sure patients and their relatives had a clear understanding of the required care and treatment.