"Treatment in Day Care unit and Ward 4"

I attended the day care unit for what I was told was minor surgery on 24 th April. This seemed OK , but I felt I was rushed out and a different nurse discharged me from the one who admitted me . I was not given the antibiotics which were prescribed on the admission form. I later had to contact the hospital who sent them out by courier - a distance of about 45 miles- expensive mistake. When I went to my local surgery to have the wound checked and redressed , the doctor said it was infected and prescribed further antibiotics . However the infection got worse and my doctor arranged for me to be admitted to the Royal Preston Hospital in ward 4 on 1st May. When I arrived at the ward , I was not expected and had to wait about 3 hours before seeing a doctor . She agreed I should be admitted but it was at least another hour before a bed was found for me. During this time I was not offered any refreshments or pain relief. I remained in hospital for 11 days, most of the time on an IV drip, initially 3 times a day, then oral antibiotics but then had to go back to an IV drip 4 times a day when the swelling increased again. I spoke to 3 other ladies on the ward who were also there because of post operative infections. Minor surgery needed major recovery! During this stay I would say that the nursing staff were excellent- caring and hard working . They often seemed short staffed at night and often it was after midnight before the drugs and IV drip round was completed and you could settle down for the night. The food was very good on the whole. The ward was kept very clean. The washing facilities were poor . There were 3 toilet cubicles but only 2 were operable during my stay. All had standard height seats but raised seats would have made life easier for many patients. There were 3 washing cubicles, only 1 had a sink plug. 1 had a hand held shower but this did not work. No hooks for towels, clothes etc. There was a shower and disabled toilet at the other end of the corridor - too far for many patients to walk. I didn't see a doctor at all for the first 2 days. ( holiday weekend!) After that I rarely saw the same doctor twice. - this must make consistency of care difficult. It would be helpful if all medical staff wore easy to read name badges so that you knew to whom you were speaking. Some doctors introduced themselves - most didn't.