There's no place like home for Dorothy
When great-great grandmother Dorothy ‘Dotty’ Morris became seriously unwell, one thing she was sure of was she did not want to go into hospital.
Dotty, who is 87-years-old, has led a remarkable life caring for others during a 50-year nursing career, including two years working in Nairobi after her late husband David was stationed there with the army.
But heart failure left her unable to live independently and when she became breathless and unsteady on her feet, the staff at her nursing home in Folkestone knew exactly who to call.
Dotty was referred by the team at Folkestone Care Centre to our East Kent Home Treatment Service. Now it was her turn to be nursed back to health.
Trainee Advanced Care Practitioner Kathy Barker is part of the team that supported Dotty.
She said: “Dotty has pulmonary oedema, which is caused by too much fluid in the lungs. Care home staff noticed she was finding it difficult to breathe. Instead of dialling 999, they called us.
“We were able to give her a face-to-face holistic assessment and point-of-care testing, including blood tests. This helped us diagnose the problem and work out a treatment plan, which included oxygen therapy. With the help of care home staff, we monitored Dotty virtually.
“When her condition dipped, we came back in and gave Dotty intravenous therapy, and she continued to recover. Without intervention from the team, she would have needed to go to hospital, which she absolutely did not want.”
From her room, decorated with many photographs of her children and grandchildren, Dotty said: “Hospitals can be terrible places to go to. I feel well cared for here and wanted to stay at home.”
Being filmed for the BBC
Folkestone Care Centre Care Co-ordinator Declan Green agreed: “Older people do not want to go to hospital. The Home Treatment Service has been amazing at helping us care for our residents.”
Moving more care from hospital to the community is one of the ambitions of the Government’s new 10-year plan for health. Dotty was the star of the show when The Baroness Gillian Merron and NHS England Chief Strategy Officer Chris Hopson visited Folkestone to launch public consultation on the plan.
Ted's lifeline
At 85-years-old, Ted Davis from Faversham has faced his fair share of health challenges. He has battled prostate cancer, kidney disease, Parkinson’s disease and a worn-out knee.
But when he found himself in hospital for heart failure in 2023, Ted and his wife Cindy were introduced to a lifeline they didn’t even know existed, the East Kent Frailty Home Treatment Service.
After a two-week stay at William Harvey Hospital to address his heart issues, Ted was discharged to Faversham Cottage Hospital for rehabilitation. That’s when Advanced Clinical Practitioner Sharel Cole, one of the frailty team, introduced the service to Ted.
Sharel said: “We picked up Ted’s Parkinson’s at Faversham, which meant we could initiate some treatment for him straightaway. He responded really well and when he was discharged I offered to visit him at home to check how he was getting on.”
Sharel and her colleagues provided regular home visits to monitor Ted’s progress and help the couple to manage his complex medication regime.
Ted said: “They take bloods, check that everything’s okay and do a thorough examination. The machine they use can test the blood straightaway.”
Sharel said: “The reality is, the complexity of the care we can provide for people at home has changed so much in the past 10 years. It’s a real privilege to be able to offer hospital-level care at home for patients like Ted, with frailty and complex issues.”
The personalised, community-based care provided by the team has been a game-changer for the couple. Rather than feeling isolated and overwhelmed, they’ve had the support they need for Ted to recover safely at home.
Bridging the gap between hospital and home has not only improved Ted’s health outcomes, but also provided invaluable peace of mind for the entire family.
“It’s really an extra arm to the National Health Service,” said Cindy.
