"Lack of compassion or care"

First of all I want to say that The theatre staff were second to none and made me feel really calm and relaxed. I also stayed in another ward previous to my stay at 3 east which was nice and staff were good.(3 east is the ward I am writing about here ) 

Day one .I was taken from another hospital to jubilee and signed in by a nurse who was nice and put me at ease. MRSA swabs were taken.The surgeon and anaesthetist came in and went over the procedure and process of being put under. The surgeon told me I was 1st on the list which I was delighted at .

The nurse came in to give me a gown for the morning and told me that I would be 4th so was fasting from 6am.I explained this was not what the surgeon told me. The nurse checked this out and said that I was definitely 4th on the system and I wouldn't know till the morning when they got hold of the surgeon.

After they left other than observations and medications , I didn't see a nurse again which I was surprised at as I thought someone would have came to go over the plan for the morning with me and what to expect , I went to my bed really anxious .

the morning of the procedure 

a nurse told me they would be round soon with some IV antibiotics as routine procedure before an operation. I was also asked by a separate nurse had I had my shower last night with hibi scrub , I explained no one had told me I had to do this or given me towels or hibi scrub. I was told that was fine just do it now. They still couldn't tell me when I would be taken.

At this point as you can appreciate I was extremely anxious and this was not helping as I now felt I was rushing about for a procedure I wasn't even sure if I was getting soon or not. A short while after the theatre nurses arrived with a bed for me and I was hurried away with  no warning at this point I was terrified and not mentally prepared to go as I wasn't aware they were coming I also had no idea what was going to happen next If I would be put under or asked to wait for a while. The theatre staff were amazing and calmed me down, my procedure was done and I was taken back to the ward when I was put to bed and left for hours. I was told my husband would be called when I came out of surgery so he could be there for me coming back which he wasn't so I had to do this myself as I felt woozy and was laying alone in the room and no one had been in .

Later that evening When I was a bit more compos mentis I asked the nurse about the antibiotics I hadn't had and they said you will probably get them later don't worry. Medications came round and I wasn't given antibiotics but I presumed I would maybe be getting these through IV. My temperature was noted as high when obs were done and I again asked an auxiliary nurse about the anti biotics and was told the nurse said I was probably gave them at the theatre. After this I was left for hours without a follow up check of my temperature I would have thought it would been half an hour at the most as I was obviously at risk of infection having just had surgery. A nurse came in later and asked me did I have any dressings or that- This did not fill me with confidence as I was their patient so why did they not know why I was in, I was asked this again later by a different nurse. 

When my medication was given I asked If I was getting ibuprofen as I had had this earlier .The nurse told me I wasn't written up for it ....then came back later with 2 ibuprofen saying they forgot to give me these. That night I had absolutely no sleep because the visitors were in till after 11  talking and laughing loudly , through the night the nurses spoke and shouted to each other as if it was day time .

The next day 

I was handed two towels in to get a shower I couldn't even use left side to get up with the pain and also had read.(on the internet as Id been given no advice about movements) you should not to put strain on that side I struggled out of bed and I had a shower using one hand to try to wash myself which was difficult as I couldn't see the scar . .To be fair I would have probably said I would do this alone but the point is I wasn't asked if I needed any help after a major operation. A person with a surgical uniform came to see me with some really helpful leaflets about the ICD and how it would work etc .I asked about wound care was I supposed to be showering etc is it ok that I'm leaning on it, warning signs anything's wrong etc. They said the nurses would be going over this with me (which they never did).I was told I would be getting transferred to Inverclyde later that day.

Again other than medications and  observations I was left the whole day .I asked the nurse if I could have something for my stomach as it felt like it was burning due to anti imflammitorys. They came in and said well I can give you gaviscon or something (seeming annoyed that I had asked ) and then said are you going to get up out of bed and sit on your chair and looked at me in a disapproving manner....

At this point as I had had an operation the previous day I was in agony .I said I wasn't going to get up as I felt sorer when sitting up. This nurse rolled their eyes and smirked as if I was using excuses and brought me back gaviscon(the same nurse later asked me if I had any wounds to get checked so couldn't have even known why I was in). At this point, after they left the room I began to cry. I am in my 30s, I have a young child, 5 weeks ago I had a cardiac arrest through the night and My husband had to resuscitate me,I was in a coma for days all because I had an undiagnosed heart condition which my child and family will now have to be tested for , I went into that hospital this week from another hospital still absolutely traumatized, and frightened of the procedure.

I am a person not a piece of meat and this is how I felt I was treated .The nurses ( there were a few who were nice when taking obs etc ) but the bulk of the trained nurses were rude , not compassionate , uninformative , hard and did not seem to know what each other were doing.When I was getting moved to Inverclyde the paramedic asked the auxiliary for a handover and she said ......she had a defib fitted yesterday...that was it no mentioning of risks of cardiac arrest then she left the room .The paramedics also had to help themselves to the notes as the auxiliary just left them laying on a table outside the room which wasn't very confidential as they were accessible to anyone passing.

A day after I was moved from GJ, in the next hospital the nurse said to me that they just to check your dressing as I know it was changed yesterday but just to see. I explained it wasn't changed yesterday and was told that the nurse from the jubilee had said it was all changed .....I explained I hardly saw a nurse and I know now that it should have been changed after 2 days so I am glad that the nurse asked me or this wouldn't have been carried out.

I am not one to complain but knew I had to  make GJ aware as this may in my opinion be dangerous , unethical and all round back practice. Rudeness,not handing over potentially crucial information, medication errors, lack of compassion, unorganized  and a shambles by my brutally honest opinion. In my role within a health and social care organization I have a duty to ensure that our staff are following the sssc codes of practice and am aware that the nursing and midwifery council expect the same in your own codes of practice. Well in this case I feel certain that numerous codes of practice have been breached. There is too many to even quote here, for instance the direction to treat people with kindness, respect and compassion. I was not treated with any of this this was an extremely frightening time for me and for the first time in 4 weeks I felt anxious as in the previous wards the staff answered all questions and were extremely sympathetic to my situation made me feel at ease by reassuring me. In our kinds of jobs people we look after should be a priority....not a task and I'm appalled at what has went on in this ward .

Just to note it was apparent the nurses were run off their feet which doesn't not excuse the lack of empathy but may explain some of the things that were missed .I Feel these issues need addressed to stop further incidences like this