"Poor level of care"

I was in ward 30 for 10 days following major surgery.  I still feel traumatised by what I experienced there and did not need to happen.  My experience of surgery and ITU was excellent. Unfortunately moving to ward 30 was not a positive step. I was told by a doctor on the day that I was being transferred that they needed the itu bed but not to worry as I wouldn’t be completely abandoned. I thought that he was joking but upon reflection I don’t think that he was. Ward 30 seemed seriously understaffed by health workers who appeared burnt out and overwhelmed. 

I met one nurse who had a very cold bedside manner and made me feel like a burden. They told me that I didn’t need to know what tests were being done or what medication I was being given. I was told that I would only be told if things started to go wrong. This made me feel completely disempowered.

This nurse also strip washed me in front of an open window and spoke to me with barely disguised disdain. They gave me tinzaparin injections in my arm which were very painful as they are meant to be administered into the stomach. They also told me that my gp would not prescribe pain relief upon discharge. This was not true and caused me considerable anxiety. 

I was sent home without any means to clean my surgical incisions despite two stitches popping open having been removed too early. 

I want to think that this nurse was not intentionally cruel but perhaps needs to gain some insight into the impact of their behaviour upon others. 

Id like to comment on the member of staff who walked through the ward boasting about getting overtime shifts and saying kerching! How crass and insensitive is that when people are in pain? 

I also felt completely humiliated by the doctor who during ward round commented on my weight and asked if I’d always had large ankles. This was done in front of a group of staff in a public place. I felt humiliated, ashamed and hurt. There was no need for this. 

Despite having major surgery and prescribed hourly pain relief it was never forthcoming. I felt like I had to beg for pain relief and that patients were all treated like potential drug addicts. I have never abused substances in my life and I was being honest when I was saying that undergoing a sternotomy was extremely painful. On one occasion I was left  without pain relief for 5 hours while a member of staff did their online shopping. 

Staff openly discussed staff shortages and I overheard conversations stating that patients were at risk of dying as a result. I empathise with your situation but you should know how terrifying it is for patients to hear you say this. 

I don’t understand why drinking water was left for 12 hours at a time. It was warm, stagnant and disgusting during a very hot spell in hospital. The food was equally as bad. 

I also overheard a nurse joking that they were so tired that they felt like they were going to die by the end of the shift. They said this in front of patients for whom this was a very real possibility. 

I was put on oxygen because my sats were low only for the member of staff to forget to turn it on at the wall. How can you get something so simple so wrong? 

I was woken one night by staff in full ppe responding to an alarm in my room. They quizzed me as to whether I was contagious or had covid as there were stickers outside the ward. They still left the door wide open. They were covering the break of a colleague on the ward and obviously had not been given a handover. Fortunately I did not have covid but it was very unnerving. 

 

And finally, genuine and sincere thanks to the group of nurses and hca”s who were extremely kind and made each day bearable despite being under incredible pressure. To the surgeon whose daily visits were full of kindness and compassion and made me feel valued. The ITU staff who were amazing. To all the trainee nurses I met who were, without exception, fantastic. To the physios who were always full of empathy, in particular the woman who recognised that I was quiet and withdrawn because I was exhausted and in considerable pain.

To the radiologists who were always kind and the cleaner who always made me smile. I’m also very grateful to the healthcare assistant who took the time to undertake my personal care with dignity and respect despite having little time to do so. I am very grateful to each of you and very sorry that your hard work and professionalism is undermined by the lack of empathy and compassion shown by some of your colleagues. 

To the patient liaison staff who will tell me to contact them to lodge a formal complaint. I’m recovering from major surgery and have neither the energy or the inclination to go through a bureaucratic process which I fear will only serve to tick a box. I have nothing to gain from making this review although I have been left feeling very disappointed and distressed. My hope is that the people who recognise themselves here will perhaps consider the impact of their behaviour and do something to address it.