I have quite a few different chronic health conditions so end up in A and E quite often, one of them is chronic back pain, I woke up one morning being completely unable to sit up, I’m bed bound but normally I can sit up in bed but this morning I couldn’t. This meant I was unable to eat, drink or take medication which included levetiracetam which is an anti epileptic. I had waited all day with my carers begging me to call until I called for help because I don’t want to end up in A and E. On the way I had been sick in the ambulance so I needed to be changed on my top half, a male HCA wheeled my bed into a room which didn't have a light he had to use his torch on his phone. Not once did he ask if I was comfortable with a male HCA changing me.
I had only been in A and E 15 minutes and a doctor came and said you can go home it’s just your chronic pain, I will get your GP to refer you to pain management, I questioned them and I said it’s not safe I can’t eat, drink or take medication but they didn’t care. I even asked a nurse but they didn’t care either, I’m normally incontinent and I hadn’t passed urine from 11pm that night, by the time transport came it was 2pm the following day and my pad was still dry, but this was because I couldn’t drink. When transport came I told them that I had missed 3 doses of my anti epileptics just to warn them just in case, me, my carers and my friends all knew that this was a safeguarding issue and an unsafe discharge, but I said to them that the district nurses were coming that day so I would speak to them about how Peterborough city hospital neglected me.
When I got home I broke down on the phone to my friend because I was in so much pain, my mouth felt so dry and I was hungry. Luckily the district nurse came in and I spoke to them about everything, they told me they were concerned about how I was looking and did my obs and told me my blood pressure was low and they needed to speak to a duty doctor because they were very concerned,
The GP rang me and spoke to me about everything and said Peterborough city hospital failed there duty of care and they neglected me, and that they were going to have to call an ambulance for me, but they requested for me to not be taken back to Peterborough hospital, and that they were concerned I had cauda equina which is a surgical emergency, and they were also concerned about the fact I hadn’t passed any urine.
The ambulance came very very quickly and took me to a different hospital where they actually did their job and helped me, luckily I didn’t have cauda equina but I had to stay in hospital to get medication, fluids and I had to have a catheter in as well. I stayed in hospital for 2 weeks and because of Peterborough city hospital I have to have a catheter at the moment
Staff attitude
Staff skills