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Left in agony in A&E; all good on the ward

Posted By Natbs79

"Left in agony in A&E; all good on the ward"

About: Daisy Hill Hospital / Emergency Department Daisy Hill Hospital / Female Medical Northern Ireland Ambulance Service

(as a staff member posting for a patient/service user),

After suffering from an expected fractured vertebrae, I was brought via an Ambulance to A&E Daisy Hill Hospital. The ambulance staff were lovely – really great.

My time in the Emergency Department was absolutely awful. Due to having a suspected fracture to one of my vertebrae, I had to lie on a spinal board and was unable to move. This was absolutely understandable given the circumstances, but I was in complete agony throughout the night with very little pain relief. I was unable to get anybody as I did not have a buzzer which I think is unacceptable considering I was unable to move and meant I had to try and move to get the attention of a member of staff which was incredibly dangerous given the circumstances. I was left in agony for hours and I had to ask four times for pain relief – I was crying for it by the time I was listened to by staff members. I feel that I was ignored in A&E and that staff members did not listen to me. Staff members must learn from this so that it does not happen to another patient.

I was then transferred to the Female Medical Ward. It has been really great up on the ward and all the staff have been great. All communication on the ward has been great – there was only issues with one nurse in particular in A&E as mentioned above.

All the food I have had has been fine. The ward environment has also been absolutely grand.

One area I think could be improved, other than that mentioned above, is the lack of buzzers in A&E. I was in the Emergency Department once before and again had no buzzer, with the curtains closed. When you are really sick as I have been on both occasions you really need a buzzer to get you immediate help/attention.

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Responses

Response from Gemma Gill, Sister, Female Medical DHH, Acute, Southern Health and Social Care Trust nearly 2 years ago
Gemma Gill
Sister, Female Medical DHH, Acute,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 23/06/2022 at 04:49
Published on Care Opinion at 04:49

thank you for your feedback on female medical I am glad your care needs were met and your stay was a positive one

I wish you well on your recovery

im sorry to hear about the expierence you had in ED I do not work there but am sure someone will respond to you in regards to this

gemma gill clinical sister fmw

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Response from Demi McKay, Personal Public Involvement & Patient Experience, Quality & Safety Improvement, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service nearly 2 years ago
Demi McKay
Personal Public Involvement & Patient Experience, Quality & Safety Improvement,
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service

work with service users of NIAS, chair of stakeholder forum events

Submitted on 23/06/2022 at 09:36
Published on Care Opinion at 10:52

picture of Demi McKay

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to share your very detailed story. I'm sorry to learn your experience wasn't to your expectations.

In particularly I want to pay attention to the kind words about NIAS staff who attended to you.

I would really like to be able to share your experience with the staff concerned. If you are feeling up to it and happy to provide more detail, I would kindly ask you to email me directly at demi.mckay@nias.hscni.net

For now I hope you are recovering well and your pain has eased.

Best wishes,

Demi McKay

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Response from Paul Smyth, Interim Head of Service Emergency Departments, Acute & Emergency Medicine, Southern Health and Social Care Trust nearly 2 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Paul Smyth
Interim Head of Service Emergency Departments, Acute & Emergency Medicine,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 07/07/2022 at 11:50
Published on Care Opinion at 12:06

Good morning

Thank you for taking the time to reflect and share your feedback of your Emergency Department experience. Firstly, I am sorry to read that you had a negative experience of our Emergency Department. I am sorry to read that you were in agony and that staff did not offer you adequate analgesia. This would have made your wait more comfortable.

I apologise that you were not provided with an emergency buzzer this is not acceptable and I will be sure to share your story with my colleagues to raise awareness of the importance of carrying out adequate pain assessments and providing patients with emergency call bells.

I am disappointed to read that you felt ignored by our staff this is not the high standard of care we thrive to achieve and again I apologise. I will ensure your feedback is shared with our ED team to inform future practice.

I hope you are recovering well.

Kind regards

Paul Smyth

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