A 'Swift' Response!

Norfolk Swift Response is a brilliant free non-emergency, 24 hour service provided by Norfolk County Council. This service provides help, support and reassurance if you have an urgent, unplanned need at home but don’t need the emergency services. So for example, if you have a fall but are not seriously injured, the team can bring special lifting equipment to help make moving as safe as possible for you.

After tossing and turning on my camp bed for half the night, I was then disturbed by a telephone call at 2.30am from my frantic and distressed Mother, to tell me that Father had fallen out of bed and she couldn't get him up! She had called Swift Response, but was worrying as they had still not arrived. Got dressed, bundled hair up and swiftly drove to Holme – in fact I got there before Swift Response! Mother had gone to the loo in the night and heard movement downstairs (thank goodness she did) and found Father on the floor next to the bed – she had attempted to get him to crawl to the armchair and he managed to kneel next to the chair, but was unable to stand up. When I arrived he was laying flat on the floor on his back. We don't think he had broken anything. I helped to move him further to his right, to have enough space to turn and got him into the kneeling position again. With all my tricks of the trade I couldn't get him up, he hadn't got enough strength in his knees or legs to stand up and said it was painful and he fell faint. Quickly got him back to the floor with hot water bottle and blanket and waited for Swift Response to arrive. The stupid roadworks on the A149 had hindered their arrival and mis-information about where he lived (they were told Hunstanton), made them later than they would have been. Two very nice ladies turned up and used a fantastic piece of equipment to get him up – a square blow up chair type thing, placed underneath bottom and then blown up to raise Father to a high seated, almost standing position – then we sturned him back to bed. Father had been frightened by his experience and said he 'wasn't sleeping in that bed tonight'. He urgently needs a bed rail of some kind, don't know why this wasn't done on discharge.

One of the ladies suddenly looked quizzical and said 'are you Penny'.... 'yes' I replied..... 'Ahhhhh, I read your blog' – I then explained that this was the wrecked, just out of bed version of the picture on my blog!!! I think she was amused at meeting me in such circumstances.

I drove home and got back into bed at 4.30am. Wrecked all day at work. Fell asleep the entire evening. Was supposed to do shopping for Mother this evening, but she will have to survive until tomorrow night now.

Mother had refused to have a hospital bed for Father as this would have mean't emptying the entire living room in order for the bed to be errected – after it has been put together, everything can then be returned to the room, but this would have mean't huge upheaval, with heavy bookcases and stuff in the room. Unbeknown to us, I found out today that a bed rail CAN be added to an existing bed and can be assessed for and ordered by a District Nurse. So why was this not done for his discharge or soon after anyway?! Trying to ring people to get this sorted asap. Mother has blocked him in with commode and other stuff this evening, in hope that he doesn't fall out. If he falls out and breaks any bones or worse, I will be on the war path big time!