Nursing home physician gives 30 days notice to the owner. Should I contact the Ombudsman?

Just a question but isn't there a DUTY OF CARE place upon the NH to ensure that there is a continuity of practitioner care if not of the actual doctor?

I assume that the 30 days notice is in place because it is deemed sufficient time for the facility to find either a permanent of temporary replacement. I don't see any reason to start panicking about this yet, I'm sure that the doctor will ensure that the resident's are prescribed sufficient med repeats to last through the transition, and if there are any new problems or emergencies there are supports available in the community at large.

How frustrating.

I remember this dilemma from my own experience: when the very good respite home my mother was staying in was slow to answer the phone, I would be sitting there thinking "would I rather they were quicker to answer calls, or rather they were busy with the residents?" Grrrr! A bit of both would have been nice!

But it is very annoying - because it's rude, apart from anything else - when people do not return calls within a reasonable length of time. Have you got her or her secretary's email address? A courteous email request might get further?

The NH owner has a communication problem. She never returns my calls. I can only get answers from the employees there and they don't know certain things.

So I did get a return call from the Dr's office and they have clarified a lot. The NH was counting on this office to provide general health care but they only provide specialty care. So he will still be seeing my mother about her diabetes and related issues.

The NH has still not provided me with who the general practitioner is going to be so I'm still working on that. And again she has not returned my calls. If my mother was not kept in optimum health I would have surely removed her to another facility. But these private homes have kept her happy so far. I am out of state and can only do so much.

It sounds too easy, but did you try asking the NH owner why the current doctor is leaving? You could also ask her what the handover process is, and whether she can be sure there will no interruption in care. I would be sorry to think that you have so little confidence in the NH that you believe she won't have thought of these things for herself, though.