"There is no excuse for lack of communication, rudeness and basic care"

My Dad was admitted to AMU where I attended with him.

When we arrived the nurses were not aware of why he was there and advised there must be a delay in information from the GP and asked us to wait in the corridor.

We waited for 3 hours. He wasn’t approached once and I had to seek a healthcare assistant out to ask for a drink of water for my Dad where I felt like an inconvenience. I understand it was busy and this is probably not unusual, however my dad had just been discharged from Ninewells one week prior after having a hepatectomy, cholecystectomy, splenectomy, appendectomy and a peritonectomy. After this surgery, finding out his cancer had spread and having numerous complications which resulted in several blood transfusions, he was extremely traumatised and continues to be unwell.

As stated above I understand this is an extremely busy ward, however surely to be updated on waiting times or an idea of plan of care is not a lot to ask for!

Once there was a bed free the nurse who was looking after the bay gave the impression they couldn’t be bothered. Everything appeared to be a hassle and not once did they pick up on how distressed my Dad was! No effort was made to reassure or explain the process of the AMU - none of us had ever been there before thankfully (!) - so had no idea how it all worked! 

When he was seen by the doctor, they were extremely nice, empathetic and appeared to pick up on how anxious my dad was! I can’t thank the doctor enough for their kindness. The doctor advised bloods would be taken and the results would take 30 minutes, and true to their word this was the case.

However, when taking the bloods the nurse advised they were putting a cannula in. My dad queried this as he was only needing to give bloods and she advised it was routine.

After 2 attempts and my dad being extremely distressed, the nurse asked another nurse to put one in. My dad was so distressed he declined a cannula and asked if the nurse could simply just take the bloods. The other nurse was very kind and they accepted his wishes. Thankfully, because all was well with his bloods, he did not need any further treatment.

By the time my dad was discharged he was so stressed he was sick and absolutely beside himself! No one approached us to ask if everything was okay and I had to seek out a nurse to ask for water and a sick bowl - at this point they were chatting at the nurses station! 

This all may seem very trivial and I am sure patients have had longer waiting times/worse experiences. However, to my Dad and us as a family this has been extremely distressing.

I know how much it is drilled into NHS staff to be person centred and to use trauma-informed care, regardless of how busy they are! None of this was provided to my Dad. He continues to be unwell and due to his experience in AMU he will not seek advice from his Doctor because he is so scared he will be sent back to the AMU and have to go through this trauma again.

I completely understand wards are understaffed and extremely busy, but there is no excuse for lack of communication, rudeness and basic care. 

I have to note we are extremely thankful for the lovely doctor that spoke to my dad to try and reassure him.