"Apalling Treatment"

My 58 year old husband had been unwell with flu fluid on his lungs and just feeling low since losing his Mum last week after visiting his GP and having blood tests for his diabetes he went to get the results the GP sent him to A & E his blood sugars were 28. We arrived at around 3.15 on Friday afternoon. The triage nurse assessed him and put everything on the system saying that his flu may have sent his levels up. After waiting just over an hour a nurse called him in and checked his sugar, keystones & BP his sugars were 24.8 but keytones were low so she said we can put you on a drip she typed everything into the computer system.

again we waited and at 5.30 we were sent to Ambulatory emergency care. After 45 minutes we were seen by a nurse who said she had no record of any of his tests already done so she took blood sugars and key tones again same 24.8 and 0.1 keytones. She gave him an insulin injection took 3 lots of blood BP and we waited. They said bloods would take 90 mins.

After an hour he saw a Dr who sent him for a chest X-ray he had his sugar levels checked again when he got back and they were 23.8 so they gave him more insulin. After the 90 mins the nurse called him in again and said she had forgotten to take one blood test so she took more blood. More waiting.

At 9.30 we overheard a nurse at the desk on the phone booking a bed for my husband . He had not been told he was staying in so this was a shock and he queried it. The nurse took him to the Dr and she said we want to keep you in overnight to monitor you by now his levels were 19 so she said stay here and if they drop below 15 you can go home. He wasn’t happy but felt he had no choice. We were taken to acute medical ward and he was put in a bed with all elderly with noisy machines and nappies the room was dirty and smelt dusgusting and having lost his mum just the week before sent him into panic mode. Nothing was explained to him he’d been given no results of any of his tests either. The sister said there was no results on the system so needed to do tests again. We tried to stay calm and a nurse bought him some toast and a cup of tea and took his BP.

At this he still had no wrist bands on and after a further hour or so he had got so worked up and panicky that he said he wanted to leave. I went out to explain how he was feeling and was told he was being moved anyway to mulberry ward because he was staying in until at least Monday. By this time my husband had joined me and asked what was going on. The ward sister said he was in until Monday as the diabetic nurse had to show him how to inject himself. My husband said hang on my readings are usually good why would I need to into insulin no one has even asked my history and you’ve got no notes recorded on me. The sister was abrupt and defensive With no caring tone my husband asked to be discharged and waited to see the Dr who she paged 3 times while we sat in a cold dark corridor iin the end we signed the form and left at midni