Kettering General Hospital 2018-01-13 Person 2 5 0

I bought my partner to A&E on New Years day with flu like symptoms - except he was not able to hold fluids down. Luckily we got there at approx. 10am, were seen and put into what appeared to be a consultation room by about 13.00. My partner was in agony with - as it happens - symptoms of viral meningitis. We waited in this consultation room for 12 hours almost. My partner writhing about on the consultation couch in agony - because there were no cot sides I had to sit to ensure he did not fall off the couch, waiting up to 4 hours for pain relief, me having to beg reception for cups for the water machine and look around for blankets to scavenge because here wasn't enough to around. We had to bring our own pillow in also as there weren't any. No drip stands left so the drip bag was hung on to the window using a rubber glove. Outside A&E was filling up, people sat on the floor. It was so busy the poor nurse got my partners name wrong and that set us back 30 minutes on arrival to wait for blood to be taken. The staff were amazing- the conditions and lack of equipment that they were having to work with was almost like a third world country. Every time I went into the corridor to get help for my partner the staff avoided my gaze because they were so busy. It is horrific to see such skilled people trying to work in such an environment which reminded me of documentaries in the 90s about third world countries. After many hours my partner was transferred to a ward (approx. 23.00 at night) where he was finally found an isolation room in the medical ward. Again, staff were fantastic and he improved with antibiotics and antiviral and fluids. Unfortunately due to bed shortages he was moved from the medical ward to the cardiac ward. The cardiac ward environment was excellent, again cannot fault the nursing staff and the room was suitable for his needs - to be barrier nursed due to infection. Very impressed with this section of the hospital - modern and appropriate for use by staff. Unfortunately he was not as closely monitored it is felt by the medical team due to the fact he had been move I would assume and was now an 'overflow' patient. He was then moved again. To the ENT ward which was, quite frankly the most shocking area of all. He still required barrier nursing but was put into a room which no bathroom facilities. Due to infection risk he was not allowed to use the communal bathroom so an otherwise healthy man who was mobile was given a commode and urine bottles to use. There was a huge window on his room - with no curtain or blind facing straight out onto the main ward corridor. He could not shower or wash properly as he had no access - only to a small sink with no plug. His dignity had gone straight out of the window and no-one even apologised or gave justification for this. What is good - most of the staff we had working with us. Thank you!!!! Parking - although a complete rip off at least there is now the multi story (which I didn't use due to cost but we could get close for us to walk over to A&E) Room for improvement- The hospital is too small for the needs of the population. A&E department and older areas such as ENT need demolishing completely and rebuilding. Completely inappropriate in this present day. More single rooms and facilitates such as bathrooms for those with infections. More equipment so that staff can actually do their jobs properly. Even blankets and pillows! Doctors and nurses to share more information about the patients condition and plan of care. Always felt like staff were afraid to tell us too much. A plan for after discharge. The discharge summary said nothing about what if my partner relapses or signs to watch out for. In fact if we could move to a different catchment area so we don't have to attend this hospital again in an emergency we probably would.