"Kept informed about care"

I came into hospital on Wednesday evening via the ambulance service. I was in a lot of pain so I was very grateful that I didn't need to wait that long for them to arrive as they saw me within 45 minutes. The 2 ambulance men were so kind and helpful and they really comforted me in a time of anxiousness for myself and my family. I felt so reassured on my journey to Craigavon.

When we got to A&E the staff were very helpful and I felt very confident in the care they were providing. I didn't have to wait long at all down there and what I liked most was the fact that staff kept me in the loop in terms of explaining and communicating what they were currently doing for me and what the next steps with regards to my care would be. Before I knew it the surgeon was down and chatting to me about my operation, its benefits, its risks and to answer any questions I had at that time. I really felt like he took his time with me and valued and listened to all my comments and worries. I was then taken in for the surgery. The fact that this all happened so quickly was astonishing to me and it showed me that I really mattered to the staff and they wanted to do their best for me. 

I am now on the 4 south ward to recover and my experience here has had many good but also some bad elements. The doctors have been really really good at keeping me informed about results as well as what my recovery is looking like, I have found this very beneficial. I don't feel like the doctors rush their conversations with me and when they come and go I always feel more comforted and reassured that things will be ok. 

Some parts of my experience which haven't been so good on the ward and could be improved are: 

- I don't feel like the nursing staff are really empathizing with how much pain I am in. I feel like because they are surrounded by sick people all the time, they have forgotten what pain really means for a patient. This means I often feel like a burden to them when I request for some help on the ward as they often look at me as if 'here we go again'. I don't think they intend to deliver this type of care but I think it is something that they should consider to improve on as it can really effect a patient. 

- By no means any fault of the cleaning staff as I know how hard they work and during the day I always see them about the wards, but at night, the toilets become filthy. Fellow patients seem incapable of cleaning up after themselves. The other morning I got up to use the bathroom around 5am and could see that the toilet was visibly dirty, I had to ask the nurse 2 times for some wipes to clean up this mess so I could use the bathroom. I think if there was some antibacterial wipes available in or near to the toilet area this would be beneficial so that patients could clean up after themselves especially during the night when no cleaning staff are available.