A dying Covid patient was granted her wish of going home to be with her family as her condition deteriorated.
Senior sister Sinead Skelton shared the emotional moment when the patient, a mother in her 60s, left King George Hospital on Wednesday, January 27.
She said: “It was a bittersweet moment, she knew she was going home and as she left she waved and blew a kiss to say goodbye. It had our nurses crying. Her daughter was with her and was so grateful. We don’t often get to see this as Covid-19 patients can deteriorate very fast and in many cases, the family is unable to make it quickly enough at the end.
“This was a real example of teamwork, everyone pulled together, going above and beyond because they knew they were doing it for a dying patient.”
It was only due to having a conversation with the family of this patient, who spoke no English, which allowed hospital staff to make a quick decision to get her home to her family.
Sinead added: “We’d called the family in on Tuesday night as her condition had deteriorated. Doctors discussed with them that there was nothing more we could do for her and her daughter said straight away that she’d like to get her home.
“There are lots of things we need to put in place to get an end of life patient home and ensure they are comfortable. We started the process on Wednesday morning, so it was fantastic that we got her home on the same day. Everyone involved put this patient and her family first.
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