"Some of the staff I encountered ..."

What I liked

Some of the staff I encountered were very open and friendly and made my stay easier.

What could be improved

There was a general lack of communication between departments,staff and patients. One to one pastoral care was almost non-existant and as the link between mind and body has been well documented this, in my opinion, should be considered when training staff. The food was almost inedible and unappetising but I would rather make my own arrangements and spend the resulting savings on more trained nursing staff.

Anything else?

During my stay I was frightened, lonely, confused and demoralised. I was left without food as I was in a room that seemed to be forgotten about. I waited hours after admission to even be given pillows for my bed. People in differing states of need were left waiting unacceptable amounts of time for basic care e.g.leaking bags, problems with dressings,toilet trips.request for pain killers etc.etc The hardest thing of all was learning of possible secondaries ( I had just been diagnosed with bowel cancer), in a small matter of fact sentence from a registrar on a ward round with students in tow and the sister too busy to spend time with me and being left on my own absolutely devastated. My solution to this problem - more staff who love the job and are dedicated enough to do it. In no way am I criticising the staff I encountered overall - there just weren't enough of them.