The Great Western Hospital 2021-01-22 Person 4 5 0

Overall, I am very satisfied with the care my wife received after she gave birth to our son almost 5 years ago. The reason I am leaving this feedback is because I will always remember the particularly poor attitude from one member of staff during my wife's stay after giving birth. I had always intended to provide the feedback because it was so disappointing and it made its permanent mark on the occasion which I can never forget. At the time I had reported the attitude of this particular staff member to another. She quickly knew who I was referring to and gave me the blue iWantGreatCare.org feedback card to fill in, with the name of the member of staff I described written on the card. After doing some cleaning out today, I found the card once more and decided to finally give my feedback. So, my wife was recovering after giving birth to our first child in the Hazel ward. It was the morning and she was due to have her after-birth-mattress-protector thingy changed. I recall the member of staff being very solemn looking, and seemed to not be in the best of mood, as far as I can tell. We mentioned that the bed sheet also got slightly soiled over the night and asked for some clean sheets. She appeared to acknowledge the request somewhat with a glance, left the cardboard bed pan for my wife to use, and went away. During that period, my wife used the bed pan, and left it for disposal (I think that was what we were supposed to do. Is my wife expected to do that by herself the day after giving birth?) The lady returned with the clean sheets, placed them on the bed, and left. My wife and I looked at each other thinking, 'are we supposed to make the bed ourselves and dispose of the bed pan?' This was when I spoke to another member of staff about this person's attitude and behaviour. As I wasn't sure if I should be making the bed and disposing of the bed pan for my wife, I asked her if my wife and I were expected to do this ourselves. To which she said 'no.' The member of staff should have assisted with this and promptly had someone service this. As I mentioned, she quickly knew who I was referring to and gave me a feedback card with the person's name. I guess this person already had a reputation, hence the swift realisation. I understand that it could have been a one-off and the lady was just having an absolutely terrible day. However, from the reaction of the other member of staff, I wasn't too sure that was the case. It seemed to be something she had heard frequently. Anyway, the name I was given was 'Tracy Whitmore (HCA).' Hopefully, my feedback may lead to her receiving some additional training to improve her customer service skills, and any other areas that have been identified as below par. While writing this, I wasn't sure about going through with it, as she could honestly have been having a nightmare of a day, but I thought I should just get off my chest and put it out there in case it is an ongoing thing that needs dealing with, or closer observation. I would not like anyone else to experience what we did after such an exhausting night. Well, after getting that out of the way, the overall experience was amazing. The majority of staff were unbelievable. So friendly and kind, even when things were absolutely hectic in the ward, they had a smile and softness in their voice that relaxed you. Truly, truly grateful for the midwives and all the other staff members that helped us get through the occasion. We had our second child there just over a year ago now and they were just as brilliant. Thank you!

We were in the four-bedded bay room after the birth of our first child. One thing I suggest would be to somehow make each bay a little more sound-proof. During our first stay, the gentleman in the bay across from us frequently complained to his partner about how we didn't know how to stop our newborn from crying, which I was able to overhear quite easily; despite his best effort at trying to whisper. This was another moment that will stick with me as a negative part of the experience. As a result, we paid for a private amenity room after my wife gave birth to our second. Maybe this was part of the plan to get those returning to pay for an amenity room? Anyway, definitely try to somehow make each bay a little more soundproof, if possible and feasible. All the best to the NHS with the fight against COVID!