"My first ever stay in GRH"

I was admitted to Gloucester Royal as an emergency to A&E who quickly undertook their usual raft of tests and examinations. I was quickly moved into ACCU, thankfully only for only a short period of time. The member of staff who was looking are me,I nicknamed the nurse from hell as the duty of patient care simply was not there. Whilst I appreciate this is a busy department, when a patient asks for assistance to go to the toilet, to be told that basically I can walk there and I was not having a commode or a bed pan was not the answer I was looking for. When I explained that I was a non-weight bearing patient, the nurse conceded with a look of disdain that they would wheel me to the toilet on a a chair. It was almost like it was too much trouble. When I asked for pain relief I was advised that I had already had it. A patient on a long term pain regime knows what pain relief they need and when. Hence I was so pleased to be sent to Ward 9A where the whole nursing and ancillary staff gave 110% to their patients. Nothing was a chore, a friendly face, listening ear and a shoulder to cry on if necessary. This set of staff are a shining example of true patient care and what the NHS should aspire to across the board. They should be praised for the professional yet compassionate role they undertake. I was then transferred to Ward 8B with some trepidation as I was unsure what to expect and yet again this busy ward is to be congratulated on their patient care. They put me at ease despite the businesslike attitude of the staff, they still were compassionate and caring for all those In their charge. It sometimes felt that there were not enough staff on to deal with the swathe of different patients, some who needed almost constant care whilst others just needed to be monitored. All too often the nursing staff were tied up with administration to be on the shop floor and being aware of patient needs. They seemed to have no time to listen. I recall saying to one member of staff that I really felt unwell, and their response was to fetch me some nebulisers. At no point did their common sense kick in and ask me to expand on my symptoms of feeling unwell. I chose not to ask again. It seemed futile. All the above said, I have had many stays in NHS hospitals over the years and I was dreading coming into GRH as I had heard some very bad press about it. So I can say with hand on heart that the staff in this hospital are some of the finest I have encountered. Admittedly there is always room for improvement (the food is dire - but that's another issue), and some of the equipment and furnishings are in need of updating and common sense, without the professionalism of the staff in the care given to their patients this hospital would not worthy to be called a hospital. I want to say thank you to those staff on wards 8B and 9A for everything they have done to make my stay in hospital such a nice and welcome experience of the NHS. You are a credit to GRH and the NHS.