Derriford Hospital 2011-05-06 Person 3 5 0

I have recently been discharged after a 6 day stay on the surgical ward following a bowel op for chrohn's disease. This is my 4th op in 25 years - so you could say I'm a bit of an 'old hand' .I've had surgery at different hospitals in both this country and abroad .My usual expected recovery time is 4 days at most, but as I was on ' enhanced recovery' this time is was feasible for me to be out within 3 days. For an 'old hand' like me that shouldn't have been a problem as I new the drill and what I needed to achieve in terms of eating and bowell function. However, despite the operation going well and feeling well the very next day - eating and drinking etc; After day 2 of surgery the epidural was removed and I was given oral pain relief. The pain relief was ineffective and I was put back on the epidural later that day. The following day (day 3) The epidural was removed again and oral meds were administered. I spent several hours feeling ill, nauseous and vomiting and asked to see the pain nurse again. However, she was very busy and would check in with me later. 3 hours later and still feeling the same, by now I'm crying as I'm feeling so desperate I was asked by a nurse what the problem was - I asked her to chase up the pain nurse again only to be told she was too busy and there wasn't anything she could do as I wasn't in pain was I? It was evident that no-one wanted to know, so in the end I demanded to see one of the surgical team - suddenly, 2 pain nurses and a doctor appeared and everything was sorted out. Different pain meds and different anti- sickness meds. I was so relieved, but very annoyed that I had to resort to making demands in order to address my issues and annoyed that the pain team were happy to load you with painkillers, but didn't want to know when they made you ill!!! The story doesn't end there unfortunately as I was very ill for the next 36 hours despite the new meds. I discovered that the nurses didn't read my notes and continued to give me the meds that made me ill by mistake, until I queried what they were giving me!? I was also not provided with any sanitary protection other than a protective sheet placed under me in bed for 2 days. Unable to wash and care for myself, I was left like this for 2 days until I managed to haul myself out of bed and make it to the bathroom to clean myself up. Thankfully, a very kind nurse helped clean me up and provided me with what I needed, God bless her. Altogether I spent 6 days in hospital and I'm so disgusted with the standard of care I received. I have made a vow never to go back to Derriford again and actively sought out a new hospital and consultant where I shall be transferring my care in the future. This is such a pity as Derriford have some great consultants and surgeons, it's just to big and too busy and the nursing staff are under resourced.