"Excellent overall care tainted by some staff members"

The treatment for operative laparoscopy (cystecomy).

Pre assessment process was efficient, friendly and thorough though took a while to find the right desk (being sent to early pregnancy assessment desk by mistake at one of the attempts- as others have mentioned also mentioned it was quite upsetting overlapping with maternity services (ie posters, flyers, women) when questions about my own fertility were tied up in this operation.

Admission on day was excellent, same nurse from pre assessment as good as before, surgeon and anaesthetists introduced selves and bedside manner and warmth from all excellent. I was so pleased and reassured. Feedback from the surgeon and anaesthetist also very clear, timely and good, given lots of opportunities to ask questions (though ran out quickly as so comprehensive).

Whilst there were a few similarly excellent and attentive staff once on ward 49 (one nurse in particular was outstanding), unfortunately at least 3 others attending the area were actively unsupportive/unresponsive. For example, at dinner I was hit by a huge wave of nausea accompanied by a horrendous flush of heat and sweating, in a room that was stifling. I asked an HCA with the few words I could manage if they could please open one of the four windows, but they refused because there was a patient sitting with others near this wall (not behind a curtain it having a private conversation I should add), and they were slightly in the way.

5 minutes later they had moved, but when the HCA returned they had obviously forgotten and ignored me completely. I was left fanning myself with a sick bowl in the meantime to stem the unbearable wave of heat and nausea. Fortunately I managed to repeat the request to someone else who appeared and actually listened, solving the issue in the 2 seconds required.

Other low lights included being told to use a bedpan to monitor urine that was consequently not collected on two occasions (meaning others in the bay found this in the bathroom), and being effectively told off for not having got to my feet despite nobody having followed up why I hadn’t managed this when I had tried (because the nausea upon even sitting up was so severe I could not stomach anything besides being horizontal). Eventually when I was told I should move again, I repeated my previously overlooked explanation and was given anti sickness medication that immediately stopped it- if I had been listened to about this the first handful of times I suspect the whole thing could have been over hours before. 

Quite quickly, however, I stopped ringing the bell, which I used in all about 4 times, because despite having been told by one of the helpful staff to ring it if I needed anything, each time I did I received a response little short of being told I couldn’t possibly feel THAT bad (I did), and I felt that they weren’t concerned about me.

In the end,  though I still didn’t actually feel confident I could manage my pain and nausea at home once the drugs wore off, I decided I would rather leave rather than stay overnight, partially because I was being made to feel like a nuisance for being there and voicing my (legitimate) difficulties and partly in the conviction my partner could do a far better job of actually supporting me. Hats off to him and my very ill compatriot in the bay for filling in on assistance that was forgotten or dismissed by the less caring members of staff.

In all: excellent care before, during (I  have no doubt!) and immediately following surgery, and also a few excellent staff on the ward. However, my overall experience was tainted by some very unwelcome and upsetting responses (or lack thereof) by an unfortunate minority of the ward staff- the sole part I of the experience I cried about on my return home.