"Care I received"

I was admitted to ward 5 from A&E with Severe stomach pains. Upon admission I was pushed to the room and immediately went straight into the bed and onto my side where I was most comfortable. The nurse looking after me arrived with the blue admission book to complete, so I sat up in the bed and helped fill it in, on leaving she told me I had to sit in the chair as I was going to get pneumonia. I was quite shocked at how abrupt she was.  I thought maybe she was having a laugh.

The nurse finished shift and the night girls came on and in contrast were very pleasant. Through the night I woke up several times, in complete agony but, feeling embarrassed, I didn't want to call the nurse. I lay awake until 4am until I was unable to bear the pain any longer so had to press the buzzer. When I did I felt so worried, but the Auxiliary nurse was fine about it and went to the nurse to get me something for the pain. It did take a little longer than I expected, but there was another patient in pain, so I assumed they were busy with her. I got my paracetamol (as this is all I was given) and was so tired I finally fell asleep.

The nurses did their rounds at 6am to take our blood pressure and replace the jugs of water. As I was Fasting, so wasn't able to eat breakfast, I went back to sleep. The same nurse I had the day before was on shift again, and said to me “You will need to get out that bed so I can make it, go for a shower and sit in your chair”. I tried to explain that I was in agony and was unable to sit too long, and that walking, even to the toilet (and I was right next to it), was so painful. Regardless, I struggled through my shower, got changed I just went back to bed as all the movement as brought on unbearable pain.

Later the doctors came round to do their morning rounds, as the doctor was pressing my belly I kept saying how painful the pressing was. However, they said that I will be kept in and only observed. My partner came to visit at 1pm. I told him what had happened during which time the pain flared up again. Over the course of 15 minutes it got to the point where I was curled up in a small ball on the bed, even crying. In vain, my partner was trying to help me through the pain, but this had little effect. So again I decided to push the call bell for the nurse. She came in behind my curtain and said “what's wrong with you” in a rather abrupt tone. I was so shocked to even be spoken to like that! Due to the pain I was suffering I was unable to speak, so my partner said I was in agony and couldn't she see that, then the nurse said I wasn't and that I just needed to get up out of bed and walk the corridor. I was so angry that she was even saying these things as quite clearly I was unable to. And to add insult to injury she then went on to explain how this was only “period pain” and that I didn’t really need to be kept in the hospital! My partner had to explain that I was a quiet complainer, and that felt embarrassed pushing the button because I worked in the hospital. The nurse then proceeded to get me a stronger painkiller which finally eased the pain.

Throughout the remainder of the day, every couple of hours, the nurse would come back to tell me to get out the bed as I would get pneumonia, this, the pain and everything going on, I just broke down in tears. My parents came into visit in the evening and I was crying whilst explaining the days events. I felt victimised because not once did she tell the other patients to get up, only me. And at no point was I shown any empathy, let alone sympathy for my yet unknown condition.  I feel that the level of care I had received up to this point was completely unacceptable and had, from my perspective, crossed the line into bullying and harassment.

One day I woke up in excruciating pain again. I got up and showered before I was told to, the staff made my bed and told the auxiliary not to bother making up properly as I was going back in it. I got my tablets and more stronger painkiller and nodded off for an hour or so, then doctors were back to examine me. The Doctor was still not happy with the pain I was in and was told I was being sent for a CT scan. I went for my scan at 10am and by 12pm I was told by the Doctor I had a very large ovarian cyst which needed surgery today! In shock I nodded, agreed and was told I was to be seen by gynecology. I was then made to walk from ward 5 to the gynecology department. By the time I walked there, as no one offered to take me in a wheelchair, I was in so much pain, I was unable to succumb to an internal examination. I was then given an ultrasound scan to which the Doctor commented on the large size of the cyst.

When I returned to ward 5 it felt as though the nurse had 2 personalities, as now she was being very nice and pleasant but unfortunately she had already treated me so poorly that any trust had been destroyed. I went to theatre at 4pm and that was me until the next day. I did ask to get sent to a different ward. But because I was a surgical patient I couldn't. The nurse in question was not on when I returned to the ward, and the care I received then was better than what I had previously received.