"Poor Communication and Poor Pain Relief"

I was admitted via NHS 24 and the out of hours service to the acute receiving wards due to what was suspected appendicitis. I waited hours in severe pain to be seen, including two hours spent on a trolley in a corridor. The staff were polite and seemed to care but even after a doctor had seen me and decided I should have a urine sample and an x-ray before being admitted to a ward to be seen by the consultant the next morning it took 45 minutes before he found a nurse to get the sample. She left while I was in the toilet and didn't return for another 20 minutes. My notes for going to the ward were moved while I was in X-Ray and the porter had a hard time finding anyone to tell him where they were.

The next morning it was decided the problem was probably in my liver or gall bladder and I would be moved to a general ward while more tests were carried out. I was there for 6 days and in that time I felt that my treatment was terrible. I was given procedures, including an MRI, without any explanation of what would be happening. When I asked for explanations the doctors told me the nurses would do it while the nurses said it was the doctors job. The doctor seemed more interested in moving on to the next patient than making sure I understood what was happening to my own body.

Despite being prescribed oral morphine to supplement my regular doses of co-codemol I was regularly ignored when I asked for extra pain relief (though the night staff were better for this), to the point I gave up asking unless I was literally screaming in agony. When I wasn't on the ward during the regular medication time (because I was having a scan), my pain relief was missed altogether and despite auxiliaries and students saying they would ask the nurses to give me something no one even came to see me. I also had a nosebleed after my MRI (which a radiographer friend said was very unusual and should have been investigated) and despite the auxiliary who answered my buzzer saying she would tell the nurses, again no one came to see me.

Thoughout this whole experience, I found communication to be appalling. My family weren't even told when visiting hours were or given a contact number for the ward, instead relying on me being aware enough and able to use my mobile. The uncertainty and poor communication has triggered my anxiety disorder and I spent a large chunk of time very distressed, in tears and fighting off panic attacks. I feel like because of this I was labelled "difficult" or "hysterical" which meant the nurses felt justified in ignoring me.

I was finally discharged, without having the gall bladder removal operation I've been told I will be having "at some point soon" when my blood tests are normal. Despite promises to the contrary no one came to explain the results of the more intensive blood tests I was given yesterday or the operation I will be having, just that I will be at home until then.

I'm not entirely happy with the discharge. The nurse who did my discharge was nice enough but didn't have enough details to answer my questions satisfactorily (and several times my mum (a former nurse) had to correct them on the procedures for surgery), and some of their information was just wrong (date and time of my return appointment, saying there were no stones when the consultant said there was). Other than the painkillers I've been given away - and if they run out - I'm to rely on my GP for more pain relief, even having made it clear to them it's impossible to get them to answer the phone let alone an appointment (a different complaint altogether). The nurse made it clear one of the reasons was because I hadn't had oral morphine for a couple of days, though as I have said above requests for more pain relief had been denied. Even though I can't drive, walk even short distances without severe pain, stand for any length of time, and get dizzy and nauseous on the stairs there was no check that I would have support at home. In just over a week when my family has to leave there won't be and I will be housebound with inadequate pain relief, uncertain how I will even get to the hospital whenever this operation happens. I have no real understanding of what's happening to my body, other than that I am in constant pain, and no idea what's going to happen to me or practical support.