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Daughter's care while in hospital

Posted By soilfd35

"Daughter's care while in hospital"

About: Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (Edinburgh) / Medical Oncology

(as a parent/guardian),

This is an ongoing issue happening within the hospital. 

We feel like we aren't listened to by doctors when discussing her care and medication. It always seems to be pushed back, but then during her stay they change her meds to what we thought would be better. This usually happens after a few days so her temperature or pain has already risen whereas this may have not been the case had we been listened to previously.

Another criticism of our hospital and especially our ward is that there are nurses that are always taken away from the ward on nightshift who get moved to a different one, leaving 2 nurses and 1 support for 9+ kids. Our ward is a specialist ward (oncology) where nurses are needed for IVs.

I'm always worried about other children within this ward as at the time of writing, some of the parents are only in during the day for a few hours, and the rest of the time nurses are having to babysit the children which takes time away from looking after our children medically. I've spoken to staff regarding this, but they said they can't do anything about it and can't force parents to stay.

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Responses

Response from Mariska Vernon-Stroud, Patient Experience Team Lead, Patient Experience Team, NHS Lothian last month
Mariska Vernon-Stroud
Patient Experience Team Lead, Patient Experience Team,
NHS Lothian

I gather feedback from patients to recognise good practise and supporting improving services in NHS Lothian.

Submitted on 05/04/2024 at 14:41
Published on Care Opinion at 14:41

Dear Soilfd35,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story. I was saddened to read of your experience, feeling that you weren’t listened to by doctors when discussing the care and treatment of your daughter. I also acknowledge the concerns you highlighted about staffing levels and unfamiliar staff on the ward where your daughter is treated. This is not the standard of care we seek to provide.

I have forwarded your story onto the Senior team who oversees the oncology ward at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People so they can respond to the concerns you have raised.

If you wish for your experience to be investigated please contact the Patient Experience team by sending an email to LOTH.feedback@nhs.scot or call on 0131 536 3370 (9am-2pm) who will be able to discuss this process with you.

Thank you once again for sharing your experience. I wish you and your daughter all the best in her ongoing treatment.

Kind regards,

Mariska Vernon-Stroud.

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Response from Nicola Davison, Clinical Nurse Manager, Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, NHS Lothian 4 weeks ago
Nicola Davison
Clinical Nurse Manager, Royal Hospital for Children and Young People,
NHS Lothian

Submitted on 08/04/2024 at 11:13
Published on Care Opinion at 11:14

Dear Soilfd35,

Thank you for taking the time to post about your experience on Lochranza ward.

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the issues that you have raised and the delay in a response from the ward from your post last week.

I am saddened to hear that you feel that you are not being listened to, as this is certainly not what we would normally advocate on the ward and usual practice is very much working alongside and involving parents and families members in care decisions. In view of what you have raised I have asked for a meeting with the lead consultant for the area to discuss this in more detail and I will let you know the outcome of that as soon as I can.

In response to your comments regarding the nightshift staff being moved to a different ward area, I would just like to reassure you that these decisions are never taken lightly and the safety of the children in all ward areas is our absolute priority. Unfortunately, due to circumstances sometimes out with our control such as high levels of staff sickness, we have to make decisions to move staff to other areas to ensure that all areas have safe staffing levels. I completely appreciate that the reasons for this may not always be clear to families on the ward, and how this would cause some concern, but please be reassured that these decisions are always a considered and widely discussed decision with the senior nurses on the wards and nurse management team. There is also an escalation process for nursing staff on the ward if they feel that staffing levels are not appropriate for their area and need to highlight that to the clinical coordinator and clinical nurse manager on call.

I hope this goes some way to provide some clarity and reassurance for you.

I will also let you know of the outcome of the meeting with the clinician. If however you feel this is something that requires further investigation, then please contact the Patient Experience team by sending an email to LOTH.feedback@nhs.scot or call on 0131 536 3370 (9am-2pm) who will be able to discuss this process with you.

Kind Regards,

Nicola Davison (Clinical Nurse Manager)

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