Queen's Hospital 2023-04-19 Person 3 5 0

When it comes to the injury and treatment itself, I felt I could have received a bit more communication when it comes to the initial path towards the surgery. Initially I was told it was taking so long because of waiting times due to patient capacities and that I might "lose my slot" if another priority patient (i.e. an elderly with a broken hip) showed up. Only the day of surgery itself I was told that the reason for the wait had to do with the fracture and swelling of the softer tissues, so they had to wait for the swelling to go down before being able to assess the damage and take it into account during surgery. If I had known that from the start of being admitted I probably would have been less stressed and frustrated. When it comes to the treatment itself, I am now almost a week after surgery and I am surprised how little pain I am experiencing. Of course there is a lot of pain killers at work, but whenever I am moving around, even if something accidentally bumps the injured leg, I don't feel much of it at all. Lifting the leg becomes easier now as well, so hopefully that is all quite promising. However, one thing that I was really angry and upset with was how my surgery nearly did not go through, because of a missing pregnancy test. At that time I had been in hospital for 9 days and I had been using the bedpan for 9 days. It was known from the moment I was brought in I would be needing a heavy surgery. Peeing in a bedpan for 9 days means there was plenty of opportunity to test me. When moved from Amber B to Ocean A I was told a urine test would be taken again, as part of the ward procedure. On the morning of, after I had already done my morning business (at this point I usually only went twice a day because of the pain involved with rolling over to use the bedpan), I was told a pregnancy test was still required... by miracle I had to go a second time that morning (as I'd drank more than usual to be hydrated due to the NBM from midnight), and told them this was their last chance at a pregnancy test. The guy ran off saying he would test it.. Half an hour before I was scheduled to go down to surgery (I was told they would be coming for me at 1pm) I was told the sample spilled and I still needed to pee... I had a breakdown then, with stress levels through the roof, as I figured that was it - no surgery. I was given fluids and eventually almost 2 hours after I was intended to be brought down for surgery they finally decided to take my sample with a catheter. I was still very stressed when going into surgery, this is not something that should happen to patients.. Regarding bed pan usage: A lot of carers don't properly wipe the patient after they are finished. They will wipe the buttcrack but not the bumcheeks. As I am quite top heavy, I would usually sit in my own liquid, meaning my bumcheeks were wet. However even with instructions, most carers don't dry the cheeks, saying "I'm ok to roll back" and causing me to sit in the wetness until the next sheet change. Regarding staff: Ocean A - Kosser: 10 stars out of 5. First meeting was requesting bedpan. Her first question: how would -you- like to do it, talk me through this, I've not assisted you before. When requesting bedpan, most other carers start messing with bed settings without warning (causing unexpected pain), but not her. She made me feel like a person just by asking my preferences. Overall she was compassionate, caring, sweet. Lovely woman. Ocean A - Laura, Lauren, Mon, Bimbo, Tina, Foziya, Kindness, Ellie 5/5 stars for them. These are the ones I've most engaged with and they show that they love what they do and want to provide the best care possible with the limited tools that they have available. Amber B - I don't have names in particular but I felt this ward was run a lot less serious than Ocean A. Not really regarding my own care, but just an observation I've made; There was a lady with severe dementia, who was rarely tended to at all. During meal times her food was just deposited in front of her, sometimes even with the microwave meal plastic still on top, expecting her to eat it because she sometimes was able to do so unassisted..... It was very saddening to see. Amber B - The lunch lady that took the orders and took out the plates was a star though (I did not get her name, but it was a black woman with an amazing bright character). She kept an eye out for the lady with dementia and 'fed' the ghosts of the lady's imagination before doing a few attempts to get some food into the lady with dementia as well. She was brilliant and brought a smile to everyone's face.

Teach your carers to ask patients how -the patient- wants to do things, before doing things themselves. It makes the patient feel like a person rather than another digit in the hospital. Also teach the carers to dry the whole backside before telling a patient to move back after using a bedpan. I know the NHS is severely understaffed, but there have been moments where I've pressed the buzzer for attention (needing the toilet) and not being tended to for 30 minutes or longer - with toilet requests I could hold it but I'm sure there will be patients that can't.