Table 3.

Data to illustrate ‘self‐monitoring’

By patients

‘But whilst I was there, they took my blood sugars and they found that they was up in the air.’ Patient 4

‘And so at night if my blood, if my blood test was … below ten I never took the last lot of insulin. You know, because I found, as I say, a couple of times I did that I had hypo because it's like one, I remember one of the nights I asked the nurse what was … for the life of me I couldn't understand why I couldn't remember what my … the blood test was when they took it, and I remember I asked her what it was and she told me it was 16, and, and I knew … and I knew it couldn't have been 16 after because at three o'clock my … she panicked because my blood sugar had gone down to four. And obviously the panic attack, I mean the sweating, because once you have a hypo it's just like a panic attack.’ Patient 9

‘They all thought I was hilarious! [Laughs] They all thought I was quite amusing and hilarious because … every bit of medication I was having I had to question it. [Laughs]’ Patient 9

‘I didn't recognise the tablet when the night staff came on, and I practically had a stand‐up argument except I was sitting down at the time, and er … and she said, “Well that's what you've been written up as.” So my complaint was, if someone had, a doctor had put it onto the computer they should have come and told me, being that I'm the patient and I'm the one that's taking it, plus I know my medication, they should have informed me that they've changed it.’ Patient 10

By relatives

Relative: ‘If I say to a nurse, when she was very poorly I'd say “That doesn't look right…” you know, they'll check.’

Interviewer: ‘And have there been times when you've said that and actually it's been OK?’

Relative: ‘Yes. Oh yes, they go, “Oh that's nothing to worry about.” Or they'll explain what, why that's happening.’ Relative of Patient 1.

‘Then the discharge, she wasn't well enough, I could hear it on the phone and I said, “She's not well enough, plus I've got a chest infection.” “Oh well you're safe after three days so she can come home.” I said, “She's not well enough.” Next thing they went, “OK, we'll keep her another forty‐eight hours.” Then my husband got a phone call, a message to say she's being discharged today.’ Relative of Patient 1

‘If we had any cause for concerns we would point it out, if not to the nurse, staff nurse, we'll try to point it out to the doctor, and if we didn't feel things were going the way we would like it to do, you know, we would make appointments to see somebody when they're available to be seen. So it's not all the time you would get the appointment to see them, but when we do, you know, know when they are actually on duty we'll make an effort to be there.’ Relative of Patient 6

‘And they told me … And nothing was too much. They'd get the staff nurse to come to the phone and she'd tell me all what was happening before I went in, you know, to make sure that everything was fine’ Relative of Patient 3