"Arthur South Day Clinic"

I arrived at the day clinic at 7am, was greeted by a nurse, taken to a very pleasant and excellently cleansed room where she told me that she would be my nurse for the day and until discharge. I was there to have a routine operation under general anathestetic for the removal of a lipoma on my shoulder. The anesthetist was excellent, she came in and explained to me exactly what she was going to do, answered all my questions and came to see me post op too. The consultant came in pre op, he seemed more in conveyer belt mode of practice really and I was just another number, I got the feeling that he really was just going through the rigmarole. When I came round after the operation, the nurse gave me a cup of tea, slice of toast and it was on my way really. As I was getting dressed I told the nurse that I had a lump on my shoulder that was not there pre op, she said not to worry without even looking at it and I was discharged by the nurse to sit in another area because she was coming towards the end of her duty and needed to prepare the room where I had been for the next patient. I was escorted out of the building by a nurse who I hadn't met before, my nurse must have gone home ? On discharge they give you a number to call and specific problems that might occur after you get home, one being "excessive swelling". My shoulder blew up to the size of an inflated balloon, I called the number but it's an answer machine, they pick up the messages at intervals between 8am - 6pm and call you back. When my message was responded to, I explained my inflated balloon and was told not to worry. By 9pm the balloon was even bigger, angry reddening and I was in a lot of pain. I called the hospital's main line who had a doctor phone me back without delay. The doctor said for me to get to the hospital straight away, bit of a worry when you live 45 minutes drive away. I collapsed, my husband called 999 ambulance who were extremely concerned for me when they arrived that they called for a back up paramedic to administer morphine. I had a blues and twos to hospital, was extremely ill, second operation to cauterise a blood vessel left open on the first. There were concerns after my second operation in 24 hours and I was very ill again needing a blood transfusion. The doctors and nurses on Easton Ward were excellent, I can not fault them at all. The doctor who did the second operation was excellent, came to see me afterwards and explained everything she had done to put right the failures of the first operation. In my opinion, based upon personal experience, the Arthur South day clinic is a conveyer belt, that's all, just saving beds and money, how many can they get through the door, operated on and shipped back home all within a few hours, that's what that's all about. I think they should have a better after op telephone system, not a "leave a message and we'll call you back". I think it should be a doctor discharge not a nurse's.