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"Admitted to AAMU after visiting A&E"

About: Countess Of Chester Hospital

My husband is undergoing intensive chemo at Clatterbridge at the moment and after his temperature went up while at home he was advised by them to present at A&E where they should treat him as an emergency in isolation. He was told to wait in the waiting room which he refused to do(because his immune system is seriously compromised), he was then taken to the majors room(I was not allowed with him at this point) where he had to wait sitting next to people coughing, sneezing and being sick for half an hour while his blood was tested. He was then put in an isolation room where I joined him. A very condescending doctor then came to ask him questions and made comments about his long hair and needing a haircut which were extremely insensitive considering he was talking to somebody whos hair was about to fall out. This doctors attitude changed a little when his blood results came back and his whit cell count was very low. We were then told he needed to be admitted and we waited a total of 8 hours before a room was found, this was ok because the nurses were very good and kept him informed that it may take some time because he needed a private room because he needed barrier nursing and we were offered sandwiches and drinks. When a room was found in AMU I had already left because it was late so I visited the next afternoon, it was then that my husband told me he had not had any tablets till 10am(these are painkillers for a preexisting condition and anti nausea for the affects of chemo which he is meant to take 4 times a day and antidepressants) he had ordered sausage and mash for his lunch but it didnt turn up and had been given what looked like the leftovers scraped from the side of the tray. I left at 3 oclock and he started asking for his painkillers which were already overdue, I then got a txt from him at 4.30 and he still hadnt got them so after waiting a while and nobody had still given them to him I rang the ward at 5pm and he had only just been given them, it was explained to me that because his drugs had been written up 'as required' he had to ask before he was given them. I pointed out that he had been asking for 2 hours, also nobody had asked him on admission how often he took them and that this was four times a day to control his pain and nausea, the staff nurse then said she would get them written up again by a doctor.. When I visited in the evening a doctor had just been to write up his medication and did not believe he took his anti nausea 4 time a day and said that I had told the nurse he took pain relief every 4 hours, which I did not. During that first day there was no barrier nursing which took place and he was left during his entire visit with drips finished and beeping for hours at a time which then dried up and the cannula needed flushing through. Im no medical expert but Im sure that this shouldnt need lots force and cause pain to the patient as he feels what we can only imagine to be a clot move up his arm.

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Responses

Response from Countess Of Chester Hospital 10 years ago
Countess Of Chester Hospital
Submitted on 26/02/2014 at 09:17
Published on nhs.uk on 27/02/2014 at 03:00


Dear Madam We are sorry you feel your husband has had a negative experience. We take all patient feedback very seriously and therefore we will use your comments to see what we could improve. Please be assured that your comments will be shared with our staff in our Emergency Department. Please feel free to contact the PALs Department on Freephone 0800 195 1241 and select option 2 or email cochpals@nhs.net to give us more information about your experience. This will also give us the opportunity to feedback to you personally regarding any improvements we have been required to make as a result of your comments. The Patient Experience Team

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