"In patient wait time for medication "

Quite simply The Christie hospital in Manchester is recognized both nationally and internationally as a world lead in the fight against cancer.

Currently my wife is being treated for cancer and the level of service "as an outpatient" has been simply outstanding. all doctors, nurses and other medical professionals have been fantastic. We are able to call if we are scared of something or simply need to speak to someone about a query we may have.

That is where most of the service seems to end. My wife has had to be admitted several times due to various issue but this will be the longest stint in Christies after treatment. With a minimum stay of 2/3 weeks after major surgery she is unable to walk or move easily without assistance. Now as it stands my wife is a very proud person and does and sometimes will not ask for help. The pain medication she is on needs to be administered at certain times along with various other adjustments. Understandably the nurses, and auxiliaries are busy and treating the patients with cancer. This can be/is difficult with the patients individual cases. Our experience on a various stints within Christies hospital have all been the same. Although staff seem short on manpower the help provided by some is amazing and by others abysmal. We have spoken to, heard and experienced delays in the dispensing of medication is beyond poor. Sometimes waiting for 2, 3 even 4 hours for medication, even simple medicine such as paracetomol.

Recently I have been speaking with other staff who all agree that some of the nursing staff are excellent but the wait time for medication is beyond a joke. Patients leaving and sometimes refusing to come in as they know they can get the medication they need to administer at home.

My wife returned to hospital and was then told that the ward has no towels and never has had any towels and patients are to bring their own in. This was different than the week before whereby these were provided. A family member then had to return to the home of the patient and bring some in.

There is currently an argument about NHS staff being short staffed and under paid. In my experience the staff that are great do not get paid enough by half but the attitude, actions of others and the unwillingness to assist makes the argument that some are most defiantly overpaid and could be replaced by another nurse/s who want to be there or pay for a further two auxiliaries who can assist the staff nurses with the patients needs. Centres of excellence such as Christies need staff who care and want to help. These few diamonds are being shadowed by the colleagues they carry leaving little or no time for their charges. In turn this leads to patients not getting the rest they need to recoup as they are in pain and worry about their condition after treatment. Because of the stress this brings, their energies are low and this causes a reduction in recovery time.