"There was very little about St ..."

What I liked

There was very little about St Richards I liked. I am a nurse myself and this led to nurses and doctors on the ward leaving me to my own devices a large part of the time.

What could be improved

Nurses on Lavant Ward in particulat addressed me as "darling", " dear" and I find this very upsetting and patronising. I pointed this out to them and asked them to address me as Liam, William or if they preffered, Mr, but they continued as before. The nurses would discuss other patients in front of me and my visitors totally breaching confidentiality. They would also argue with confused patients if they did not comply immediately. On one occasion, a patient opposite me was in the process of falling out of bed, I pressed the nurse call button, but that was ignored by nurses who sat at the nurses station, under the bell with the light lluminated which was in my view from my bed. This happened on several occasions both by day and night. Everytime a nurse came to my bed I had to ask them to wash and gel their hands otherwise it would not happen. The same went for junior doctors whom I think felt I was argumentative. My treatment was haphazard despite the fact I had a serious kidney infaction. In the end I was discharged home and my own request and had the rest of my tretment prescribed by my GP. Another issue I found curious was the fact that eventhough I had the name of a Consultant written over my bed, he never once came to see me despite the fact I saw him standing at the nurses station on several occasions.

The Ward Manager rarely interacted with patients, spending most of her time sitting at the nurses station, and not always in uniform. I had to attend for dialysis at another hospital on three occasions, and had to constatnly remind the nurse of it, otherwise I would loose my slot.

Anything else?

The above may seem like me getting something off my chest. No, this is what happened.

However, on the morning of the 16th June 08 I was admitted to St Richards hospital as an emergency (by the oncall GP) at 4.30 am which later turned out to be peritonitis (I am a renal patient on Peritoneal Dialysis) . I was very ill indeed, and the care I received in A&E was fantastic despite at times thinking I was going to die. The Staff Nurse on the unit had had a bad/busy night, but her approach to me was perfect. She helped me undress, stood with me during the tests despite the fact that my wife could have helped here. She offered me drinks or anything I needed, but I was not able to eat or drink. The Surgical Registrar on duty diagnosed my condition very quickly which was a relief. I was transferred to one of the wards (Middleton I think) and again the care was fantastic. I was in a lot of pain, and I was given the right pain relief within minutes of asking for it. All staff were very attentive and made me feel welcome despite the fact I would rather be somewhere else at the time. I was eventually transferred promptly to the Renal Unit at Portsmouth's Q.A. Hospital for expert renal treatment