"Positives and Negatives"

I was in Treliske Hospital for nearly exactly 2 weeks, albeit in a number of different wards and sections. My experience was generally very good at least in terms of the care that I received. 

With only a few exceptions all the many nurses, doctors and other staff that I came across were pleasant and caring. I would like though to commend those staff that I met who I felt went 'above and beyond' what was necessary and made my life more bearable. They were - in order of the wards I was in : Amy in ED, Sri in AMU 1 Section D, Dane and Bernice in AMU 1 Section B, DJ in Wheal Coates, plus Neeka, Laura and Betty in Wheal Prosper where I spent the most amount of time. To that list I would also like to add Nurse Tamara and her assistant Kate in Wheal Coates who I felt were not only caring and helpful but were highly efficient, informative, knowledgeable and encouraging, in fact everything that, as a patient, one could possibly ask for from a nurse. They are a true credit to their profession and I would probably say that they are probably the best nurses that I have ever had in over a dozen or so hospital stays, in different hospitals, over the past 8 years. Well done indeed.

I am unable to comment much on the quality of the food etc as except for the last 2 days or so I was 'nil by mouth' and just had nutrients from a drip in both arms. However the 2 days that I did eat I would say that i was disappointed at the standard food which was extremely bland and uninspiring and did little to encourage appetite. The inclusion of some herbs and spices would improve the quality of the food no end at very little cost. I did like though that pre-prepared Asian food was available as long as you ask the staff before you fill out the menu requests. I did try that food and that was considerably better than the standard food available. I am not Asian but my experience at other in-hospital stays had alerted me to the necessity of asking about what 'other' food was available.

Now a plea. Could I request the 'powers that be' to ban the insertion of cannulas in both elbows at the same time. I appreciate that the elbow is, for many nurses/doctors, by far the easiest place to insert a canula, which of course is why it is so popular with staff as the job can then be finished quickly and the staff can 'tick the box' and move on to the next job. However, in my experience, it can cause the patient no end of problems, not least being unable to properly, or even at all, at times, move either arm. Plus because of involuntary arm movements the needles can become very distorted and the cannulas very quickly stop working, usually within a day and a new one needs to be inserted. It is extremely inconvenient for the patient, as well as causing blood to leak out, and makes their stay in hospital far harder than it need be. Just because something is easier does not make it better, so please, please, consider banning any cannulas in the elbow area, or at least no more than one. Alternative veins might be harder to find but can surely nearly always be found, especially with the help of modern technology. This is not just an issue at Treliske but at most hospitals I have been in it is an issue and I feel the practice really does need to be stopped!

One final plea, when the time for replacement comes, can the patient chairs be changed to ones with better ergonomic designs. According to modern research, the best chairs are ones with a back at an angle of around 45 degrees, and certainly not upright, which makes the chairs extremely uncomfortable to sit in for any length of time and certainly they act as a disincentive to get out of bed where at least one can recline to the correct angle. I feel it could definitely improve the patient experience if this was done.

In general though, well done Treliske.