"The nursing and health care staff ..."

What I liked

The nursing and health care staff on the wards are a huge asset to the Lister Maternity unit. The staff in the special care unit are also absolutely terrific and I had complete confidence that my daughter was cared for impeccably. All the neonatal staff went to a great deal of trouble to explain everything to me and help me to make decisions. The neonatal nurses were very bright and 100% focused.

I also enjoyed the meals.

What could be improved

MORE STAFF REQUIRED!!! Maternity unit is understaffed; staff are under a huge amount of pressure to complete a huge number of tasks and unfortunately they are failing. This effects the patient experience and in my case hindered my recovery because I spent so long trying to make sense of the chaos on the ward. I was trying to understand what was happening to me instead of resting and sleeping. There was no initial discussion regarding the drugs I was prescribed or their side effects, I needed to be more involved in my care plan. I was not introduced to the ward, staff rarely introduced themselves to me before examining me. My bleeper was out of order for the 6 days I was in hospital. Staff were giving conflicting advice regarding Tedds, rest vs need to mobilise. As a patient I had no idea who anyone was, the uniforms mean nothing to patients. I was not offered a debrief after my operation. After asking several times 2 days later the surgeon came to explain why and what had happened.

The washing facilities could be improved - when designing the new unit please consider who your patients are. Please provide facility in the showers for soaps etc, these women are not all able to pick things up from the floor. I nearly fell over one day on my way out of the shower cubicle but managed to steady myself on the sink. A better non slip surface is necessary. Baths for immobile patients would be much safer than a set of steps to get in and out.

Anything else?

I am very grateful to the Lister staff for safely delivery my daughter but feel traumatised by the hospital experience because no one involved me in my after care plan.