Reviews
Reviews
I went into hospital for a c section. The actual procedure went extremely smoothly and the theatre staff, midwives, doctors and obstetricians were all great. I couldn’t fault them! They made me feel at ease and explained everything well.
It was the after care that I found to be somewhat shocking. Once I was back on the ward I really felt let down. I wasn’t offered help to wash or to get out of bed. When I buzzed often staff would take a long time to respond or not at all. I just felt neglected. If it was my first experience of having a baby I would have left feeling really upset and nervous about facing going home after with my baby. As it happens I was desperate to get out! On one occasion I was offered bed sheets to change my bed from theatre. I was expected to do this myself after having undergone major abdominal surgery. I felt like I was asking too much when I buzzed for advice or just reassurance about my baby. I was left to manage my own medication which I think is terrible when you are sleep deprived and managing a baby at the same time. I was also discharged with not enough medication for the week and asked to contact my G.P for more when I called up the ward on my return having not realised I didn’t have enough medication. I really was shocked at how new mums are made to feel and I’m so glad I won’t be planning on having another baby!
I received excellent, helpful, expert advice & help from Kayleigh & Kate. They gave me confidence & a way forward.
The medical assessment was ok but the administrative processes are just appalling. Someone needs to step in and look at the true customer journey.
1. I was in a room for the whole day with a suspected blood clot on the lung - from 9:30am until 3pm when the blood results came back confirming positive results.
Five staff knocked on the door asked me who I was, two asked why I was there. But because I could hear them talking outside the room and saying they wanted to see if the room was occupied, it clearly wasn’t to assess me or offer any support. I was still there until 7pm. The average time between visits to check on me medically or see if I was still alive was 3 hours.
2. The clinician dealing with me - when I asked for paracetamol for the pain at 3pm went away promising something better than that and didn’t come back except to say I was going to the ward - at 7pm. 4 hours to find no painkillers.
Don’t get me wrong, she worked hard enough to pass me on to Guy Ward and get some blood tests done but the urine sample triage asked for was ignored for about 12 hours and then taken away by staff on Guy Ward.
3. Bed had a sheet, clearly crumpled with prior use.
It was freezing, and, as it turned out I had pneumonia. Nobody offered me anything to drink or eat until 2pm (4.5 hours of being in the room), what they offered was 6 biscuits. FFS it’s a hospital….? This is not healthy. At 3.30pm a kind nurse got me a sandwich and explained where the yoghurts, tea and coffee were.
4. No one gave me a wristband with my details. Every member of staff after A&E asked to see my wristband. Not one of them then went to correct this oversight. I didn’t have a wristband with my details throughout my visit.
5. Outside the room I could hear this ongoing argument over who I was and why I was there. Who was responsible for me. I was referred by a 111 clinician and told to present myself to A&E within an hour of talking to them about my symptoms. They seemed to constantly talk about whether I was a GP referral or an A&E patient. None of this matters. I’m a patient who is ill that needs care, treatment, support and a diagnosis or moving to the care of a ward and doctor who can provide this. And timely!!
6. I didn’t see a medical doctor until 10pm. Since 9am I was suspected of having a pulmonary embolism, confirmed by positive blood tests around 3pm. I could have died.
Thankfully the medical doctor on Guy Ward was excellent and her care and treatment was perfect.
I arrived around midnight, my midwife dropped me off and told me I needed to wee. Having just given birth, I was in a bit of shock and feeling a bit wobbly that my husband was about to leave. She told me to wee in the pan and then give it to someone. I waddled out of the loo with a pan of pee and didn’t know where to take it as no one was around. A lady appeared and snapped ‘where is your mask?!’ Now I get it, but having just gone over 24h without one and just having given birth, holding a pan of blood and pee, the location of my mask was not the top of my priorities. She then said ‘that pan better have your bed number on it’ it didn’t. She then wanted to know my bed number, and having just arrived in the middle of the night, I had no clue. I was this close to bursting into tears or going off at her! Thankfully 2 more medical looking people (probably very non pc way to put it!) came and seemed to realise that my wobbly knees and lack of clothes suggested I was very freshly post partum, and we’re quite nice and thankfully took the pan off me.
The lady in the bed next to me had a meconium explosion around 3am, and was crying, ring her cal button and was calling for help and no one came for about 10-15 mins!
In the mean time, I got up and helped her clean it up!
It was better in the morning, even though discharge took until mid afternoon! But we were kept informed and people seemed keen to help us and things! I know that night is a hard balance as people are sleeping, but it was so overwhelming and weird to be plonked in a bay with a baby on my own and not feel welcomed or like I felt secure and aware what was happening!
I thought it was part of the survey, even though my physiotherapist asked me the same questions during my appointment this morning.
I twisted my foot which tore a ligament on the top of my foot. Kayleigh supported its recovery with exercises, cheerfulness and encouragement. It is now much improved and with a little more time, I feel it will back to normal. Kayleigh is the best physio I have ever had. Thank you.
Absolutely ridiculous system in outpatients/fracture clinic. Waited 2 hours past our appointment time for an X-ray. No one around to ask for update. Even most of the staff had gone home. Disgusted.
Kate made me and my daughter feel very welcome. Kate made sure my daughter knew what exercises to do and if she was happy with the plan. Thank you!
I came in for answers to why I am in excruciating pain. I explained I have a condition called dysautonomia, meaning my body temp is naturally low, so a "normal" temp is actually high for me, and naturally low bp, so high bp is very worrying and indicative of something wrong. This was ignored, doctors told me my condition isn't real, and simply stated "your vitals are normal, you're not sick". But no two doctors could stick to the same story. I was here for a week, had one scan, and one blood test, and went home in just as much pain as when I arrived, having been insulted, and accused of lying and faking. Then they say they will investigate the cause of my excruciating pain in 3 months because I am "not sick". I am 100% certain I won't even be home for one night before I am back in hospital, because I am still sick, and no one cares to even do me the dignity of looking up what my condition is before declaring it doesn't exist, just because they don't know it off the tops of their heads. I am seriously worried they will find out what was wrong on an autopsy table, simply for reluctance to do a simple scan. Several times I was left in pain for extended periods, and made to feel awful for buzzing for the help that I needed. For example, today I buzzed for pain relief at 3pm, continued buzzing multiple times, whilst hearing them gripe about "time-wasters like me" and finally got the pain relief that was due at 3pm an hour and a half later, at 4:30pm. Let alone when I had to tell the nurses what my correct medication doses were. Also they gave me an enema, saying I wouldn't experience pain. I was screaming in pain for nearly an hour afterwards. 5 and a half hours later, the pain and pressure are only building, and they continue to tell me this is normal. A simple Google search can tell you extreme tearing stabbing pains and ongoing bloating are not normal. I'm going to have to call 111 once I leave hospital over what should have been a treatment.
The radiology team were professional, friendly and put me at ease during my CT scan. Always with a friendly smile and caring looks, you could tell you were being looked after.