"I don't know where to turn for help for my 77 year old husband"

About: Hammersmith Hospital / Accident and emergency Hammersmith Hospital / Older people's healthcare NHS England London

(as a carer),

My husband has not been referred to Orthopaedic department even though he has great difficulty walking and is falling daily. He has banged his head when falling and despite having a previous bleeding on the brain has not been offered help.

He collapsed three weeks ago and was taken to Hammersmith hospital where he is a renal transplant patient. The doctors 'assumed" that he had a urinary tract infection with very high temperature and creatinine levels. After a week he was sent home where he had a fall banging his head. 24 hours later he couldn't balance himself and has fallen continuously.

He went to his GP who told him his legs feel strong and hasn't offered him a referral to an orthopaedic consultant. He has also not requested a neurological consultant because of the previous stroke he has had and to rule out any damage he might have done when he has banged his head. As his carer I don't know where to turn for help. My husband is 77 years old and I am wondering if this is a factor in the apparent lack of care.

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Responses

Response from Christine Cornell, PALS manager, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust 10 years ago
Christine Cornell
PALS manager,
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Submitted on 29/05/2014 at 10:06
Published on Care Opinion at 10:12


Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is very sorry to read of your husband's situation. His GP would be responsible for assessing whether he requires a consultant referral and access to appropriate NHS is certainly not dependent on a patient's age. As a renal transplant patient his consultant team may also be able to assist.

The Trust's PALS Team would be happy to speak with you if you would like to make contact pals@imperial.nhs.uk

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Charlotte43 (a carer)

By way of update, my husband has now received an orthopaedic appointment but has no referral as yet for neurology.

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