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Somewhere between excellent and confusing

Story from nhs.uk

"Somewhere between excellent and confusing"

About: Royal Bournemouth General Hospital / General surgery

I came for day surgery. When I came round I was in severe pain and the surgeon said that they would get it sorted for me and that I wouldn’t go anywhere until it was. There then became a battle between the anaesthetist and the nurse in the day unit who was trying very hard to give me good care. Eventually the nurse who was very sweet did advocate for me and I stayed in overnight and managed to see the pain team.

Ended up on Ward 12 which was very good indeed with the exception of one nurse who wanted to argue that my pain scores were not as I was suggesting. It is on my notes that I am autistic and my expressions will not always match the norm. My sister who is a nurse came to visit luckily and interceded to get me pain relief and anti nausea medicine but sadly not before I threw up violently which really hurt my stomach. The same nurse who was arguing about pain scores was the one who seemed to think we were demanding immediate attention when we were just flagging it up that I was about to be very sick.A word to the nurse in question, yes having lysis surgery as well as a hernia repair is extremely painful - particularly when the stomach lining (omentum) was firmly adhered in various places and needed freeing up.

I did not appreciate having to have an argument about whether my pain level was as I suggested .

It’s a shame as in every other way the treatment was absolutely amazing but nobody seem to be listening to the surgeon or her suggestions and I had to repeat over and over what I needed to get myself under control. I got there in the end. I am 100 grateful to the lovely HCAs and night nurses as well as my wonderful surgeon though.

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Responses

Response from Patient Engagement and Clinical Liaison, The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 4 years ago
The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 24/07/2019 at 08:35
Published on Care Opinion at 08:35

Dear Mrs Lock

Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your recent visit and surgery experience. We are pleased to hear that for the most part, the staff looking after you did so to the best of their ability and advocated on your behalf.

It does, however, always sadden us when we hear that poor treatment or individual staff attitudes undermine the hard work and dedication of those seeking to give patients the best possible care and attention.

We have shared your comments with the ward Sister who is understandably distressed to hear that a member of her team treated you in such a way as to undermine your dignity and respect and showed a disregard for the amount of pain you were in.

She has asked me to convey her apologies that your pain was not adequately addressed.

As it is difficult, giving the amount of detail, to pinpoint the exact member of staff, Sister has spoken with all the nurses who were on duty during the time of your stay to make them aware of the your feedback and how they should be dealing with pain scores sufficiently and showing empathy to all patients. She has also shared your comment to all their other staff, through the daily brief, regarding your concerns.

Sister was happy to hear that the majority of your stay was good and despite the negative impact of one staff member you recognised this as an isolated incident and valued the care from the rest of her team.

If you feel you would like to discuss this further please contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 01202 704886 or pals@rbch.nhs.uk who may be able in enquire further on your behalf.

Regards

Patient Experience Team
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