Friday 13 July 2012

Water


Did you hear about the young patient who died of dehydration in a London hospital because nursing staff would not give him a drink of water?  He was so desperately thirsty that he dialled 999 on his mobile phone and called the police to get them to bring him a glass of water, and they rushed to the hospital only to be turned away at reception, and he died of thirst a couple of hours later.

I really don't know the details of this affair, but I think that his medication for a minor ailment produced a thirst in him, but to be refused water anywhere, let alone whilst in hospital defies belief.

I believe it is the law in the UK that if someone walks into a pub and asks for water, the pub is legally obliged to provide some.  I know that there must be some medical conditions and procedures that mean a patient must not be given water or anything else by mouth, but to refuse to give a glass of it to someone dying of thirst right in front of you seems utterly inexplicable to me.

Anyway, I'm off to pick up the Bentley now....


16 comments:

  1. I suspect this case is much more complicated than the first reports would indicate.. but dehydration whatever the cause is an unacceptable situation for ANY vulnerable patient to be suffering from.
    these sort of awful disasters will happen in the nhs as in any healthcare system... it's a dreadful and unacceptable part of having a "human based" system... and do you know what?
    it really pisses me off..... not because I am angry that stupid and fatal "cock ups happen" ( of course I am) but because everyone is all too happy to jump on stories like these rather than to appreciate with some balance and realism all the positive things that our "free" health care provides the population.

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    1. Point very well made, John. I do hope there is more to this story than meets the eye.

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    2. And who will tell us if there is?

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    3. Yes, I know. I have never heard a bad story about NHS experiences from people who have had them, only good ones.

      The NHS is the biggest single employer in Europe, if not the world. These things are bound to happen - RARELY. A tiny percentage of the general experience.

      I have been told by various doctor friends to - if at all - stay out of hospitals. They are not very healthy places to be.

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  2. When I read about this I didn't really believe it. There must be more to it than the obvious. I hope there is.

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    1. I think there must be, or I hope there must be. I'm sure there is.

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  3. Tom, I do hope we see a picture of you in the Armani suit,by the er ummm "Bently" soon!

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  4. In my local Albany nightclubs you have to pay for water and the taps in the toilets are turned warm and made inaccessible to bottles, specifically to make more money at the bar. Fuckers.

    Anyway ... Pete Regala. The Circus and that yarn you were promising. Go on.

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    1. Ok - Circus tale coming up this weekend, I promise. Warm water but the beer HAS to be cold, eh? Even in a crummy out back bar?

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  5. I agree, John. And yes, Tom, another vote for seeing you well heeled and standing beside your new machine.

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  6. Am I guilty of sloppy eading Tom - I thought the last post said you were not having a Bentley but had gone for a Volvo?
    I read that story about the water and the young man too - the trouble is that one cannot always believe what one reads in the papers - maybe we need to know more - surely it can't be true? Or can it?

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    1. I didn't even get the VOLVO today - drove for 4 hours and found a pile of shit at the other end, so did not buy it. I'm car-less right now, so maybe I just might buy that Bentley.

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  7. read it in the Grauniad yesterday. He had diabetes insipidus and required kidney medication which he hadn't been given. An overworked overtired nurse hadn't checked. And he was avoided because of a history of agression caused by a brain tumour. dehydration can make you confused and aggressive....

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    1. Ah - thanks for the information, Marianne - we knew there had to be more to it than appeared. Poor sod, and poor nurse.

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