Sligo family shocked to find Grandfather with dementia sleeping in hospital ‘storage room’
“We are often scared that he might drink one of the medical supplies that is kept in there thinking it as water”
Georgina Downey says the family have been knocking every door they can to try to get their father moved out of the box-sized utility room.George Downey (78) was admitted at the end of May.Georgina told The Sligo Champion that they had to bring him to the hospital as the family was not able to provide all the facilities that he needed while his condition deteriorated day by day.Mr Downey's room at Sligo University Hospital“At first he was living in six-bed ward but because he has dementia he would get agitated and frustrated, so the hospital decided to take him out of that room and then they put him in that utility room in the beginning of June.“Even his attending doctor has said that this is not the right living condition for him and she has been sending emails to those responsible for bed and room allocation every day.“It’s been three months and my father is still living in a room that doesn’t even have a window or a toilet nearby. During the few days of summer although we don’t have very hot summers yet it was roasting in his room. We had to buy a table fan to keep the room cool during those few days.George Downey “The room is like a box room where you can fit a bed and then there are shelves filled with medical supplies and no ventilation.“There is no TV or any entertainment option in the room either, which makes him more agitated and he is often found wandering around the hospital, trying to get into other rooms.“We are often scared that he might drink one of the medical supplies that is kept in there thinking it as water, which is a big health and safety hazard and can be really dangerous for him.”Georgina and her family are worried the living conditions will worsen his dementia if he is not moved to another room.“Our family has taken care of my father for many years but as his condition worsened his GP suggested us to bring him to the hospital for better care.“Even while he is in the hospital we take turns to visit him every day and spend as much time with him as we can. But having some kind of entertainment would keep him settled in his room.”Some of the boxes and medical supplies have been moved out of the room after the family posted pictures of them on social media.Medical supplies and boxes are kept in the roomThe family is grateful for the care and services they are getting from the hospital staff but they also want Mr Downey to have a better quality of life.“We are not complaining here about the staff as they are absolutely amazing up there. The doctors and nurses are all wonderful and take care of him. It’s just the bedroom that he is in is not suitable for anybody to live in.“It’s a utility room at the end of the day and it’s not meant to be a bedroom.”The Sligo Champion contacted the Saolta Health Group for a comment on the issue and in response they have said that they are “engaging directly with patient’s family” on this matter.“All inpatients in SUH are cared for in multi-bedded areas, single rooms or treatment rooms on wards.The signs on the door to the room where Mr Downey is staying.“Decisions on where in-patients are placed are made on a clinical basis taking into account risk assessment and bed availability.“Patient safety is at the forefront of everything we do and we regret that any patient would have a bad experience while in our care.“When a client or family makes personal information public, this does not relieve the HSE of its duty to preserve/uphold client confidentiality at all times.”
