"Patient behaviour unfair to staff"

I was admitted into Antrim Area hospital Ward C1 for planned surgery. My own personal experience of the staff and ward sister in C1 was brilliant they were very attentive and went above and beyond to ensure I was comfortable going into my surgery and my aftercare I could not fault.

However I wish to highlight the abuse I witnessed, of not only the nursing staff but I would go as far as saying the NHS. There was a patient in the bed next to me me using her mobile phone after 11.30pm very loudly, using foul threatening language to whomever she was on the phone to. Staff did their best to ask her not to be speaking like this and encouraged her to take the call elsewhere but she refused. The next day as I was getting my consent form filled out along with the Doctor, the same patient was abusive to the nurses and being extremely loud to the point where the doctor had to stop speaking to me as I could not hear him. She proceeded to use the same threatening behaviour to the nurses, shouting and upsetting everyone in the ward. She would raise her voice demanding morphine and screaming at the staff (this happened on more than 1 occasion). No sooner would she get this and she was off out of the ward again. Other patients appeared to be frightened and the staff really did try to ensure every patient was ok and apologised for the annoyance. The phone calls started again the following evening again and were nothing short of an Eastenders episode. I could not rest due to the heated calls she was making. This should have been an evening for recovery for me after major surgery, anything but it, it was frightening.

Again staff were apologetic. The following day this person was on and off the ward often and I could hear the nurse ask if she would move to an extra bed as they needed a bed with oxygen for another patient. She refused and was so abusive to the nurse. The ward sister came in to try and defuse the situation but she too got abuse hurled at her.

I know this seems long but I can not emphasise enough how badly this patient behaved and what the nursing team had to put up with. It is unfair to staff and genuinely sick patients.

I admire the nurses for the continuous polite and professional manner in which they handled things but this person took up so much time that was not necessary, time that sick patients could have had.