"The staff are obviously over stretched, ..."

What I liked

The staff are obviously over stretched, they are working on a ward that is underfunded and has been for I assume years. Short on equipment. They had 1 bedpan and comode for the entire ward. Many machines were broken or faulty, these included beds, blood pressure machines etc. The very basics that these nurses needed to do there job. It was like being on the set of 'The Royal'. The staff are caring and considerate and try their best despite being completely unsupported by the management. I should imagine that it is bad enough the amount they have to give, and the pressure they are put under in a literal life or death situation on a moment by moment basis without being surrounded by shoddy equipment. There seems to be no flow system in place, there seems to be no end to end management of patients. I was ill informed for the duration of my stay. I asked the nurses but they were unable to answer any questions regarding my surgery. I saw my surgeon an hour before my operation then two weeks later!?!?!? I was not told how to manage my recovery post operation, what I could and could not do, I left hospital with no referral, with the same compress bandage I had applied in theatre. I was discharged from hospital without dressings or instruction with one weeks supply of medication not the two that was stated on the label. Obviously this happened all in a blur. It was only a couple of days at home when I was asked about when my dressing would be changed I was alarmed. I called the ward and was told to do this myself?? Something I later discovered would have been a disastrous move. None of this is the nurses fault. They work as nurses and this they do. These tasks should be managed by an administrator. I had to continually call the hospital to get an appointment with my surgeon, I was in recovery. How many people just dwindle away. Why does the management not care? We are people not figures and you are paid well to care and don't nurses are paid badly but do care.

What could be improved

Create an end to end document that lives at the bed of all patients. The details BP, meds etc. also the home pack that goes to the administrator. Not just the here are your drugs off you go into the ether. It is really not that difficult. You have to simply hand over to multi services, either out patient or community. Then they are independently managed. Patients are vulnerable, and simply need to be informed. They want to know the prognosis, and the possibly outcomes. Post surgery, they want to know to best and worst outcome, what they can and cannot do. What services they need to engage. Simple. They need a touch point a dedicated person they can field calls to if they need information. Also they need written information. They need to feel empowered, that they can indeed help in there own recovery and development and have some bench mark to show they are on the right track.

Anything else?

start listening to your patients. Enough goes into the NHS, yet somethings can be changed with simplicity not a massive overhaul. The positives are you have staff that care. Don't lose them.