"Lack of simple planning was blocking patient flow"

The ward is bustling with activity, a continuous stream of patients and staff flowing through the ward all day. I witnessed little done to check that visitors are actually visitors, I could have easily walked into the ward and wandered around for an hour and no one would have said anything to me. The ward was also extremely messy and cramped. There were chairs, tables, trolleys and other equipment strewn across the walkways.

Nursing on the ward seems strained and quite lazy. After leaving my partner in the evening in the wards care and headed home to Essex she called me stating that she had pressed the bell about 15 minutes prior and had not received any help. She had gone through a major operation earlier in the day so physically couldn’t get herself out of bed to the toilet. I had to take a drastic and unprecedented measure of actually phoning the ward to alert them from 45 miles away that one of their own patients requires assistance. As an NHS worker, lack of basic patient care is one of my sore spots. So this didn’t sit well with me. 

The following day she was due to be discharged. I asked to speak to my partners nurse and waited for half an hour before being told they are trying to find her doctor but not sure who she is under. This lack of simple planning prevented a much needed bed on the ward from becoming free for new patients, effectively blocking patient flow.

In conclusion to my experience on the ward, more needs to be done to improve the compassion from the nursing staff and the planning of discharging patients.