"SUPPORT DEPARTMENTS DRIVE THE OVERALL OUTCOME..."

My wife found her nursing care in the surgical day ward to be exemplary.

Attentive nursing, domestic and catering staff who all played their part in making her stay as comfortable and cared-for as they could.

There was a flaw however which over shadowed what should have been a positive departure for home.

We were told that my wife's medication package for her head been ordered from the Pharmacy at 08.30 and that they had four hours to deliver that to meet their maximum time allowed, I.e. By 12.30.

At 10.30 the Registrar advised my wife that she could be discharged and she therefore advised me to make the 30 mile journey to collect her.

At 11.15 (whilst I was in transit) she was further advised that she needed to have her medicines package before leaving.

We understood from ward staff that on three occasions nursing staff were diverted from on-ward nursing duties to visit the Pharmacy to collect/expedite the prescriptions - much appreciated but without any success.

Each time they were told the Pharmacy was "working on them" but no delivery time was offered.

Eventually I visited the Pharmacy myself at around 15.30 (8 hours after their order) to be told that a porter had just left with them so I patrolled the ward reception until they arrived so that I could alert a nurse to the arrival of the prescription and avoid any further delay. That said it was 16.15 before we got to the car park to pay our £6.20. - adding injury to insult as we had effectively devoted our whole day to sitting in the ward with no idea when I, or my wife, would be leaving.

That is not all: because of the failure to deliver the prescription within the required timescale my wife effectively blocked a bed so that an admitted patient had to wait in the corridor until my wife moved to a waiting room to make way.

I understand that it is well known that around 8am on Saturday is a known peak time for prescription requests.

Further that the staff on a Saturday morning is reduced, despite the fact that the hospital maintains a seven day service. Why did the hospital managers fail to properly staff the Pharmacy, detain my wife and me unnecessarily, make a patient wait for a bed in a corridor, and force me to pay £6.20 for being detained at their pleasure?

I await an explanation - and a refund.