"Experience in ward 6"

My husband and I would like to share our experience on a short stay in ward 6.

The childrens ward isn’t somewhere we thought we would find ourselves at any point especially so far from home, however, no one knows at any stage what accidents can happen.

When we arrived on ward 6 it was very late and the staff on night duty were very accommodating to us, considering my child was so young and in so much pain and I am heavily pregnant. They were quite attentive at the start of the night shift to my child who was so distraught. For that, I appreciate your time, care and compassion.

We want to acknowledge the Orthopaedic team, specifically Mr Walls & the Registrar on night duty who helped create a calm and reassuring environment, which made a difficult time that bit easier for us. 

That said, there are a few areas where we feel improvement would be beneficial to the general ward environment and care provision. There was no continuity of nursing care, there were numerous staff nurses wondering around during the day on the ward but none actually introduced themselves to be allocated to looking after my child. My child had been fasting for theatre from we arrived on the ward late at night and the following morning at 12.30 midday I had to ask if a member of staff could kindly bring me a drink as I am heavily pregnant (My child is 18 months & unable to weight bear so I was unable to leave him unattended to go to the shop and get something).

At no time did a member of staff check on my child’s pressure areas considering the registrar at night had gave strict instruction to do so 2 hourly as a result of the stricter cast in place. We also overheard numerous conversations outside of the side room regarding my occupation within another trust and about other families and children’s parents which conveyed as extremely unprofessional. 

On return from theatre after my 18 month having fasted for almost 13 hours, I had to ask staff (who where sitting on window ledges in another empty bay) if there was something to eat for my child. When the dinner trolley then came a few hours later, my child was “forgotten about” and all that was left was cold chicken goujons (which wouldn’t appeal to a baby) and a custard.

Lastly, but certainly not least during the 72 hours we stayed there, we never encountered a domestic to clean surfaces, floor, empty bins or clean the en-suite toilet (which had a foul urine smell). In fact, I had to ask the play therapist to get someone to kindly at least empty the bin with dirty nappies in it. 

A kind mention to the play therapist who was soo attentive to my child and really helped our stay there. 

Above all, we’d like to emphasise the importance of nursing adherence to your 5 C’s and maintaining strong communication with children’s parents/guardians.

We hope this feedback helps to further improve an already committed service to our children. We remain very grateful to the staff who care for and support children and their families during such vulnerable times, however it is important for kids and their families to receive the care that is necessary. Thanks!