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Care Opinion

I was exhausted

Posted By johara6730

"I was exhausted"

About: Forth Valley Royal Hospital / Clinical assessment unit

(as the patient),

I am a Lung Cancer sufferer. My GP sent me to Forth Valley Hospital for further investigation of my coughing up fresh blood continuously.

I arrived at the Medical Assessment Unit in Forth Valley Hospital at precisely 9,00 am as my GP had instructed.

I then had to sit and wait in this Unit's Waiting Room for exactly twelve and a half hours before being allocated a bed in this unit. By this time I was exhausted, ill and extremely hungry as I had sat the whole day in the Waiting Room with no food.

The situation was so bad that I started the process of signing myself out of this hospital as I had to spend a sleepless night with no proper food in this Medical Assessment Unit.What also exasperated the situation was that the Unit has no mobile phone nor wi-fi reception, so it is impossible to keep in contact with loved ones to update them on your situation. I found the staff to be dismissive and to have a "couldn't care less" attitude, and I felt they treated me like a trouble-maker because I had the temerity to complain about my treatment. One nurse even dismissed my protests saying that it was "normal and usual" for patients to endure a twelve-hour wait before being treated. I went on to spend a week in this hospital, and I am only now getting back to some kind of normality after my absolutely horrendous experience in this hospital

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Responses

Response from Daniel Beckett, Consultant Physician, AAU/ CAU, Forth Valley Royal Hospital 4 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Daniel Beckett
Consultant Physician, AAU/ CAU,
Forth Valley Royal Hospital

Submitted on 11/12/2019 at 05:56
Published on Care Opinion at 10:15

Dear johara6730

I am sorry I have not had the chance to reply before now.

I would also like to apologise unreservedly for your experience when you attended our Acute Medicine Unit.

Unfortunately we have had an exceptionally busy autumn and early winter. This has led to several days where patients have had to wait for a bed far longer than any of us would have liked. I’m really sorry that this happened to you (and indeed anyone in this situation)

That does not excuse the fact that we did not provide food, or that the attitude of some of our staff was dismissive.

We will discuss your feedback at our management meeting. Whilst there will unfortunately continue to be occasions where patients will wait longer for a bed than we would like - there are undoubtedly things we can do to improve things for patients and relatives during this time - such as timely updates and access to food and hot drinks.

Thanks again for taking the time to provide feedback. I would be happy to discuss this with you in person if that were helpful - just contact my secretary Michelle on 01324 567462

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Response from Carolyn Mckenzie, Senior Charge Nurse, Acute Assessment Unit, NHS Forth Valley 4 years ago
Carolyn Mckenzie
Senior Charge Nurse, Acute Assessment Unit,
NHS Forth Valley

Submitted on 10/01/2020 at 17:41
Published on Care Opinion on 14/01/2020 at 08:53

Dear Johara6730

I am sorry that your experience of our unit was a poor one. Nursing and medical staff see patients as quickly as possible and try to limit the length of wait patients can experience but unfortunately on extremely busy days patients can experience longer waits to be seen.

We are sorry you did not receive any food whilst waiting within the unit and I will speak with the housekeeping staff regarding this.

I am sorry that you felt the staffs attitude to you was dismissive. I will highlight this feedback from yourself to the ward staff and make them aware of your concerns.

Thanks for taking the time to provide feedback as this helps us to improve on the service we provide.

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