"Pretty Disappointed"

We came in with direct access to the Paediatric Assessment Unit as my 4 month old is an high risk outpatient. They were amazing and got everything sorted quickly and admitted us onto the children’s ward as fast as possible. The day staff on the ward were lovely and catered to all our needs perfectly when needed and buzzed however the night staff really left me disappointed. Being full of stress & worry I expected some sort of support and help throughout my sons bolus night feeds, meds and care as they were needed every 2 hours however I was left to do everything myself as they were “too busy” to help out even after i asked for the assistance which in turn left me exhausted and further stressed as i didn’t even get a chance to sleep or rest properly during the night. My husband - my sons father - was also made uncomfortable for being around later on in the evening. It’s the holy month of Ramadhan and with work, fasting and night prayers, my husband was only able to come round to the hospital later on. He was questioned multiple times as to when he was leaving (literally 15 mins after arriving) and didn’t get a chance to spend time with myself nor his son; he wasn’t planning on staying the night to abide by the one parent overnight rule but to not be able to comfortably spend some time with his family in a stressful situation really upset & disappointed us as we expected better understanding of the night staff especially there’s an open visiting time for parents. Also, when using the nurse buzzer, we were attended to such long after (45 mins to an hour later) on multiple occasions and when seen, we were spoken to in a dismissive manner making us feel very disrespected. Yes we are young and first time parents and some of the staff are older, but respect, kindness and understanding, especially in stressful situations is expected regardless, instead we were talked down upon and dismissed. With treatment like this, i couldn’t wait till my son was discharged.