"A mixed review of NMGH - April/May 2017"

My initial experience on NMGH to be honest was not great. I visited A&E on 3 separate occasions with the same symptoms - sepsis. There were posters all over A&E warning of the dangers of sepsis and the 6 signs however it was completely missed in my case unfortunately until admission. On the 3rd visit to A&E I waited 3 hours to be triaged and was then sent back to the waiting area barely able to walk in such pain. I was then called back into the triage area and saw a different nurse who let me know they were waiting for a cubicle for me. What followed was horrendous. I was left on a trolley for 20 hours in agony, no food or water and the IV drip I had in was attached to the trolley so I couldn't get up to use the toilet. I informed the staff that I could not swallow tablets yet they constantly kept leaving paracetamol for me to take. Eventually a junior doctor came to see me and told me that none of the wards were prepared to take me as I had discharged myself the week before (I hadn't, I was told by a consultant that I could leave and I couldn't get out of there quickly enough having spent 3 days on D5 which is the vilest ward I've ever seen). Following a phonecall to the emergency PALS matron (who is my STAR) I was admitted to STU, a very busy noisy ward but understandable. The staff were fantastic I have to say, there was a nurse on there who had just qualified that week who was so lovely. Following a few tiring days on STU, I was transferred to Ward C4. I have to say the staff on here saved my life. I was getting a lot of mixed messages from doctors about what was wrong with me and until they figured it out they were refusing to discharge me. I was extremely frustrated and scared as I had never been in hospital before. I spent over a month on C4 and the nurses really fought my corner and kept me updated on everything as much as they could. Only downside is that on weekends it is run on agency staff so you don't get the continuity of care then. Having spent 2 bank holiday weekends there I could definitely breathe a sigh of relief when the normal staff were back on. I would like to thank all of the staff on C4 and all of the lovely night staff too for putting up with my whinging! Also massive thanks to the emergency PALS matron who was always on the end of the phone for us and my consultants. I am still very emotional and recovery is taking a while for me but if it wasn't for these lovely people I probably wouldn't be here now. Thank you.