Just been watching the local news and there was an investigation on there about an elderly lady who, while in the James Paget hospital, had fallen out of her chair twice!! breaking her hip on both occasions and was later to die due to lack of care!! The ladies daughter had even recieved a letter from the hospial saying that her mother was doing well and would soon be allowed home!!! - AFTER she had been dead a month!!
This is beyond disgracefull!!!!!!
It should not be happening in 2010 in our UK hospitals...but horrifically it IS, and I have seen it too!!!

This week I have to go back for tests for my ulcer and I am dreading it because of the horrible memories I have got from my two recent stays in Northampton general. For those who don't know, I have a lower gastrestinal cyst/ ulcer that made an appearence at Christmas last year in the form of my vomiting blood and having blood stool. I was rushed in as an emergency on the first occasion as it was suspected that I had a life threatening internal bleed, but fortunatly this was not the case....However my treatment while in hospital was absolutly awful!! and my second stay a month later was worse!! During the first stay I was moved to 3 different wards in less than 24 hours and all I was given for pain relife was paracetamol, while I was in agony!! I was not seen by a Doctor for over a day, and the only time I saw a nurse was to take my obs (observations of blood pressure ect) or to change my drip. If I wanted the loo or anything thing else I had to ring the bell which I felt really guilty about, and woo betide me asking for a cup of tea!! as I would be told "I am a nurse its not my job! ask the tea lady on her rounds!" with a really evil look!! Also because I was taken in as an emergency in an ambulance I did not have my medication on me, on the first night so I did not have my zopiclone sleeping pills!! So on my first night I asked a nurse if I could have some but she abruptly told me I would have to present a "current" prescription to *prove* I was prescribed them by a Doctor!!! Shit!!! she made me feel like a drug addict!!!!!!!!! It was horrible!! and to make matters worse I diden't have my mobile so I could not phone Derek to ask him to bring me some!! As it is I am on a repete prescrition (monthly) so I dont actually have a "paper" prescription!!.......and a month later I was back again but on a different ward!! The second stay was far worse as regards care and not just for me, but for my fellow patiencts too!! Again the only time I saw a nurse was to do the hourly obs (unless I called) I had made sure this time they had been informed of my prescription but they dident have the right dose for me either!!!...Then there were two fellow patients who suffered along with me. The first was a young girl with suspected appendicitius who was crying out very loudly in obvious pain, but non of the nursing staff took any notice of her!!! The second and across the ward from me was an elderly lady with a fractured hip, and twice she was not given the food she had ordered for lunch, and told to choose somthing else! Whats the point of filling out the menu cards!!!!??.. The second time the lady had ordered sausage and she was told they had non so she was offered some alternatives all of which she wearily declined, and I dident blame her!! The food was absolutly vile!!!!! One morning breakfast was not served untill nearly 10am and the coffee was stone cold and liken to gravey!! Now the ward I was on which was called "Knightly ward" is a million miles from anywhere in the huge spralling rabbit warren that is Northampton hospital, but this coffee was so dreadfull I took it on myself to haul my carcas out of my tiny rock hard hospital bed, and take the 45 minute round walk to the coffee shop in the entrance!!! It was painfull but worth it!!! I got the equivelant of a pint of American hot coffee, sweet and gorgeous!! But because of the distance of the walk back I had nearly drank it all by the time I got back to my ward!!!
"Where have you been? The Doctor has just been to see you!!! your not supposed to leave the ward!!" Sister Zeig heil squarked at me!!!
" Well if we were served brakfast on time, and the coffee was drinkable, I would not have left the ward, would I?!" I retorted, angrily!!!
But later that day she had revenge.......
At 3pm I was due to go down for a gastroscopy (camera down the throte) and so I sat patiently waiting to be collected with my tummy rumbling loudly as I was not allowed lunch, because I was having this proceadure. By 4 pm I was still waiting but I had asked the nurse if I could have my dinner on my return as I was starving bloodly hungry!! She said yes and I filled out the menu card, like a good little girl. Eventually I was wheeled down to have my camera about 20 minutes later, but I was still kept waiting another 2 hours before I was wheeled in and seen too!!! Then I had to wait another hour before a porter could be located, to wheel me back up to my ward. It was nearly 6pm by the time I got back, and my long awaited dinner was nowhere to be seen........I asked an orderly where my dinner was and the young lad just looked vacant (as young lads do!) and said he would find out. An older man came over and explained to me that he was not given any intructions for my food and said all he could offer was cottage pie!! I greatfully accepted but what I was given was some non-discript dollop of brown and yellow that I would have been ashamed to have given to Sirius, my dog!!! AND it was stone cold!!!!!!! Well by now I was fuming!!! and to top it all I found out that the old lady had not had any food all day!! I blew my top and called for the ward sister and I really laid into her as politly as possible!
"I know its not your fault but I have had no palatabel hot food all day, and the lady over there has had nothing either!! This just is not acceptable!!" I explained, making a point that I was going to make a formal complaint!!
Later that evening I was reprived when my mum and Derek brought me sandwiches and crisps...hardly healthy for someone with an ulcer, but marginaly better than the pig-swill I had been insulted with!! I was later to stomp down in the lift to have a much needed ciggie outside reception, feeling I had been treated like a piece of meat and not an ill human being a all!!!
Now dont write me off as just an old moaning grump! But I thought nurses were suppose to "nurse" their patients, and care for their needs and help them get better!! Not ignore them!! and surely part of a patients recovery is down to being served half decent food, so they may build up strength!! Instead, myself and the old lady were left neglected and hungry...I was discharged the day after (bet they were glad to see the back of me) but I dread to think how the old dear was treated after I left, to say nothing of the young girl who was writhing in agony without pain relif!!! I have no idea what has happend to hospital care in this country but I have recieved better care when I have been ill in 3rd world countries!! and I really do mean BETTER CARE!!!....there should simply be NO PLACE for neglect and complacency in the nursing profession in the UK today!!!!!!
We are certainly in a sorry state if our nurses stop caring.........and the sad thing is, I think they already have........