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.
