"I was a patient at the Royal Bournemouth ..."

What I liked

I was a patient at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, I had a lap chole. Having trained and worked at the hospital I found the complacency of staff intolerable. I went in to the anaesthetic room and was told "well you know what happens anyway, you use to work here". I am still a human being and was very apprehensive regarding the surgery and the anaesthetic. I was not told what was happening at any stage, just a needle jabbed in to the back of my hand and the next thing I knew I had woken in recovery. The staff were excellent in this department and treated me with dignity as they knew I found it difficult as I had previously worked in theatres. It did not improve after I was discharged from the holding ward (12). Ward 26 seriously need to review their patient care ethics, ie, communicate with the patient. Virtually no contact with nursing staff, completely ignorant and lacking in any compassion whatsover. Eventually I sat in the day room and waited for my husband to collect me as no one had asked me since my arrival how I was. Absolutely appalling in every sense of the word. It was not as if the whole ward was overflowing with patients to the stage that nursing staff could not cope as the lady in the next bed to me was lavished with attention. I should have had the same rights as any of the other patients but feel that I did not. I would not not recommend the Royal Bournemouth to anyone in need of post op care

What could be improved

To improve patient care that I did not experience, Nurses should show more interest in patients of all ages and not just the older patient. Post op care is very important and being discharged without even having my wounds looked at is not patient care. I have thankfully got over the trauma of that stay and unfortunately require further surgery. I do hope that the standards of nursing care, interest in the wider age range of patients and overall interest in the job that these people trained so long to do has improved