"My dad being admitted to hospital"

At the beginning of March my Dad was airlifted to the QEUH from a rural hospital with stroke like symptoms. It was the first time in his life that he had been unwell and understandably it was an anxious time for him to be an inpatient in unfamiliar surroundings.

I must thank all the staff in the Immediate Assessment Unit, particularly one doctor who took our concerns seriously and identified the further investigations which should be carried out and ordered these tests promptly. When my dad was moved to ward 5B unfortunately it was not as positive an experience.

There was a complete breakdown in communication between ward staff and my dad and his family. The limited information we received of my dads condition was from accidentally reading a handover that was lying in view not from the nursing or medical staff who were looking after him. There were no updates about changes in plans and my dad was not seen on a ward round for several days or by appropriate senior medical staff at any point.

This was a very stressful time for the whole family but it was made more difficult by the breakdown in communication on several fronts and the lack of compassion showed by some staff members. We felt pressured to leave the ward although the investigations had not been completed and there was no definite follow up in place. Despite asking to speak to senior medical staff we were told this would not be possible and all communication was with the house officer or the SHO who admitted they did not have experience in neurology which is not their area of expertise. When going over reports the house officer never addressed my dad directly and was not able to answer our questions about the scans and its implications.

Surely these reports should only be communicated by someone that understands them, has had some training in this area or ideally by someone that works in the appropriate field (neuro in this case.)

Overall I am very disappointed with the care my dad received whilst an inpatient on 5B which for the most part was not compassionate, inclusive or person centred.

I would however like to thank the student nurse who looked after my dad on a few occasions and was fantastic. He was helpful, knowledgeable and empathetic. He will undoubtedly be a credit to his profession and an asset to the NHS.