"Pre/peri operative treatment exemplary, nursing..."

Anything else?

I have nothing but the highest praise for my surgeon and anaesthetist. However, nursing care following my surgery was essentially fundamentally lacking in such basics as duty of care. One or two nurses were the exception showing care and dedication. Most however, were totally lacking in care, compassion, empathy, enthusiasm and even basic politeness. It was abundantly clear that patients were ruining their day for them. I left the nursing profession myself 3 years ago, choosing an alternative path to a rewarding career as a Training and Development Manager. My career now involves identifying and analysing performance gaps. I was aghast at the sheer defiance and laissez faire attitude of the nursing staff. With the exception of a couple of dedicated individuals, they were some of the most recalcitrant and unprofessional people I had ever come across. As a strong intelligent person myself, the fact that I was reduced to tears, rolling around in agony following major surgery, is testament to the lack of care and concern shown to patients in their most vulnerable moments. My heart goes out to those poor patients without knowledge of the system, who may not be aware of their rights or who to turn to. It is hard to believe that in this day and age, a catalogue of nursing errors and breakdown in communication could leave me writhing in pain less than 24 hours after major surgery with the only pain relief administered being one dose of paracetamol in an 8 hour period. Not only that but coping with the sarcasm and mocking tones of the nurse responsible for my care. City Hospital should be utterly ashamed of itself!