"This was my first time in hospital. ..."

What I liked

This was my first time in hospital. I was on ward 7B along with a number of ladies aged from 54 to 99 years (I was the youngest person in my room). During my stay I received medical care that is second to none, from every single member of staff. After a couple of days I spent most of my time sitting in a chair observing the patients and staff and I must say, I was extremely impressed with what I saw. Nusing staff assisted ladies with their usual needs, bedpans, commodes, bed changing etc. then they provided additional care in the form of assisting one lady to put her make up on before her visitors arrived, sitting down and assisting other ladies taking their medication and eating their meals. One lady in the room was in a confused state and went walk about all the time but every staff member treated this lady with dignity every time and directed her to her bed. Another lady was quite demaning and pressed her button for assistance constantly throughout the day but each time the members of staff gave her the attention she needed, they had the patience of a saint. The cleaning staff kept the ward clean and brushed and mopped the floor daily in addition to wiping down the surfaces and emptying bins. Each day the patient was given a menu sheet to complete for your meal preferences the following day and the food provided was very nice, you could even state the portion size you required e.g. small or large. There was plenty of choice and meals were served hot and in a timely manner. I was allowed home yesterday but will be extremely grateful to everybody who looked after me and nursed me back to good health. Thank you very much to all concerned. Keep up the good work.

What could be improved

My only negative comment would be in relation to the shower facilities in the ward. The shower room did not have a shower tray to contain the water, just a hole in the floor so when I had my first shower I soaked the floor and proceeded to dry it with paper towels which did not do much good. I was concerned about leaving the shower room floor wet in case another person went to use it and slipped on the wet floor so I told a member of staff and she dried the floor for me. If the shower was in a cubicle I feel it would be much safer as the floor would not get wet.