"Poor communication"

Due to having severe pain I had a CT in Grantham on Tuesday, a and e doctors informed me it was a kidney stone and wished to take me via ambulance to Boston for treatment. They explained that my stone was 4mm and stones less that 4mm can be passed naturally and it was boarderline whether I could pass it myself or not. The blockage of the stone had caused a build up of urine in my kidney and my kidney had become swollen hence the pain. I didn't feel an ambulance was necessary so after some persuasion I had a family member drive me to Boston.

The staff in both Grantham and Boston a and e were extremely helpful and informative, explaining everything in detail. The a and e doctor at Boston insisted I was admitted over night to see the urologist in the morning. As a breastfeeding mum I stressed that this would be difficult but they still insisted. I was taken to the Bostonian. At this time my pain had settled, the doctors explain this was due to the stone not moving at present. Because I didn't have pain over night on the ward, I was made to feel like I shouldn't be there. I barely saw any nurses.

On the ward round the consultant explained that I may need a procedure to remove the stone but they were happy to allow me to pass it naturally with the help of some medication. There was a lot of talking amongst doctors as they do and not much said to me. I expected a nurse to come back after the ward round to explain everything and answer any questions but this never happened. I then saw a HCSW some time later and asked her to ask one of the nurses if I could take this medication as I was breastfeeding. She never came back to me but I saw a nurse some time later who came to tell me I couldn't take the medication whilst breast feeding. I asked what happens now then, and I was told to go home and drink plenty of water. This is fine and I'm happy to follow this advice but I wasn't given any reassurance that this was ok and not concerning like the a and e doctors had stressed.

Just before I was discharged I tried to communicate this to the nurse but she made me feel a bit stupid for asking questions and didn't really respond with anything that put my mind at rest. How can I go from the concern stressed by a and e to just drink water? Without some brief explanation or information to back this up it doesn't fill you with much confidence.

As a staff member myself I know that communication is key. If you say you will come back, then you should always come back. Even on the busy days it takes 2 seconds to pop your head in and say we've not forgotten you we're just busy. Nurses should go back in to see patients after a ward round to make sure they understood what was said by the doctors and if they have any questions. An explanation of what to do after discharge should be given surely? I got more information from my EDD than I did from any staff.

No wonder people come out of hospital not knowing what they need to do or to prevent returning to hospital. This is such a shame when pilgrim is so fragile at the moment. Staff should always make patients feel valued and not dismissed.