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Knee replacement operation

Posted By filingcc74

"Knee replacement operation"

About: North Devon District Hospital / Anaesthetics North Devon District Hospital / General surgery North Devon District Hospital / Trauma and orthopaedics

(as the patient),

Wasn't impressed with the anaesthetist, desperately wanted to do a Spinal Block when I had already said I wanted a general anaesthetic, they even tried to change my mind when they took me down to theatre. I didn't feel listened to.

I take a lot of medication and every time I asked for it they said I had already had it or it wasn't due. Which I knew I hadn't taken it. I would prefer doing my own medication at least I would know what I had taken.

I personally think I was sent home too quickly. I've done all the exercises given to me, then when I went to a physio appointment and got told I was doing too much, then I had a chest infection and didn't go to physio and haven't heard from them since. I've had 3 falls on my new knee, 1 indoors and 2 outside, which the 2nd one I ended up in A&E. They x-rayed it but it was too swollen to see if I had done any damage. After they cleaned all the grit out of it they glued it together.

I had to ring the hospital to get an appointment with the consultant because my knee didn't feel right. Got told it was still healing and they wouldn't look at it for 6 months. I'm still in a lot of pain when I'm walking, it feels like something wants to push through on the right side of my knee.

My Dr has sent me for x-rays and it's showing fluid around the knee and lesions are showing up. The idea of having this operation was meant to leave me pain free, instead I'm taking a lot more tablets. I wouldn't have had this operation if I knew what problems I was going to get. But because I had a car accident earlier this year I needed that operation.

The aftercare is none. Unless you keep pushing you don't get anywhere. You do get my health on a computer based website but there is nothing on there that you can add any concerns you may have.

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Responses

Response from Donna Knight, Registered Nurse - Jubilee Ward (Northern Services), Jubilee ward - NDDH (Northern Services), Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 17 months ago
Donna Knight
Registered Nurse - Jubilee Ward (Northern Services), Jubilee ward - NDDH (Northern Services),
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 20/12/2023 at 16:59
Published on Care Opinion at 16:59

Dear filingcc74

Apologies for the delay in response I am so sorry to hear about your experience which you clearly felt was unsatisfactory.

I am afraid without having more personal details I am unable to comment on your individual case so if you were happy to contact me via our email orthopaedicprojectnurses@nhs.net we can investigate your concerns further and arrange an appropriate review by one of our clinicians.

In the mean time can I apologise that you felt pressured and not listened to with regards to your decision to have a spinal anaesthetic opposed to your personal preference of a general anaesthetic. From a recovery perspective the clinicians preference is to undertake a spinal anaesthetic with or without sedation which is easily reversible enabling patients to become more mobile which helps patients pain and generally patients suffer less sickness and nausea enabling them to return home on the day of surgery or day 1 post operation. With a general anaesthetic patients are more likely to be sleep post operatively unable to mobilise, increased pain and potentially suffer sickness and nausea.

With regards to your medication the nursing staff have to follow a electronic prescription chart to enable them to administer routine and operation related medicines for which I am happy to review your records to understand if there is any learning for the nursing team required. Unfortunately we would not be able to utilise the patients self medication policy as you had an anaesthetic and would not be considered safe practice.

Your discharge is very much dependent on meeting a set criteria of goals in order to support a safe and timely discharge. The aim of the rapid recovery project for hips and knee surgery is to focus on patients pre operative preparation by exercising, building strength and planning for your home recovery. I am really sorry to hear you have had several falls which have impacted on your recovery.

It would be interesting to know if you were offered to register for the Mymobility app via a smart phone/ipad etc when you were listed for surgery which covers education, exercises and allows patients to communicate and send photographs with the clinical teams via a messaging service. However it is for non urgent enquiries as is only monitored currently between 8-4pm Mon-Friday. The after care and recovery is very much patient led with all patients having the opportunity to contact the clinicians through Mymobility, the ward or the consultant secretaries.

Reading your concerns it would be very if you could contact us either via the email address above or via your consultants secretary to arrange a clinical review with one of our consultants referencing Care Opinion.

Kind regards

Donna Orthopaedic Project Nurse.

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