"Staff had great attitudes"

I recently presented myself to ED at the Ulster Hospital on advice from my GP with abdominal pain.  I was a worried about how safe it would be at the hospital and didn't want to take up resources while the system is under so much pressure.  

The temperature check at the entrance didn't take account of me wearing a woolly hat on arrival and I was initially sent to the COVID ED.  This was soon rectified by the triage nurse and I was quickly through triage on the non-COVID side.

ED was busy but organised and well-managed and at no point did I feel overlooked or unheard.   Although being asked what I was waiting for and what the results of my COVID test were did niggle at me a little - surely this is information I, as the patient, shouldn't have to keep track of.  After a surgical consult I was admitted to Neely Ward for further investigation.

The staff on the ward were generally lovely - particular shout out for Fiona, Precious, Regina, Kirsty and Mary - despite being busy and with an obvious influx of new and/or bank staff, care was delivered very well.

Communication was however lacking at times.

Intake on the ward missed out many of the basics, e.g. could a patient remove their face covering, where were the showers, was I allowed to eat or drink.  The intake paperwork seemed cumbersome and there was a lot of leading closed questions wherein the nurse completing the paperwork made assumptions about me and my general health and ability.  

Being woken at 1am for a surgical consult felt a bit unusual, but we're always saying it should be a 24/7 health service.  I didn't mind the timing of the consult as much as I minded that the registrar didn't write up any instructions or speak to the nursing staff at the end of his visit.  He had told me I could have tea and toast and water, but when I enquired of the nursing staff about half an hour after he left they had no instructions in this regard.  As I hadn't had any fluids in over 12 hours by this stage I requested IV fluids. I would have thought IV fluids would have been routine for people nil by mouth for extended periods of time.

There were other examples of miscommunication or lack of communication between medical and nursing staff and between staff and patient - including what felt like a significant delay in discharge due to a doctor not confirming to nursing staff that I was ready for discharge and writing a prescription. 

Overall however, the medical, nursing, support staff, radiology staff and porters had great attitudes - even when I was being grumpy with pain, hunger, thirst and wondering what was going on.  I would like to thank each of them for their hard work and care during a difficult and frightening time for everyone.