Share review of Royal Sussex County Hospital

Royal Sussex County Hospital 2022-08-25 Person 2 5 0

Not helped by pt.opposite me in the bay testing positive to Covid the morning after her transfer. We became a Covid ward. Three lockdowns and nobody seemed to know what to do to prevent infection ie masks when not by bed space if patient or if you were infected. Nurses were new, not bad but did not seem to have a want to learn or there was not obvious teaching except for epidurals which was always by most senior nurse on. HO were overwhelmed and could not follow ward round info. Meds from pharmacy were not provided and my prescription was signed as checked by a pharmacist but no pharmacist did ward check with me which would of meant that I would of gone home with at least some of the meds that the consultant asked for and others that were meant to be routine might of been written up without me continuously having to ask eg PPI. I did not at anytime feel people cared for me I tried not to make a scene at any time and was therefore ignored this was not helped by being lumped in to the Covid ward. Two people positive at start of admission 4 by end of 4 days. Would of saved money to isolate the original pair and not extend the other patient stay as they caught Covid. When Consultant on ward round asked what I would like to do, I said go home. If I had been NIC I would have fought to keep me. I was not ready to go home I had not eaten for 4 days, food was appalling for anyone but limited for lactose free pt. no one checked my looses which had increased nobody prescribe Imodium despite the consultant saying for two days in a row I should be on it. I had to ask for three days for a PPI to be prescribed despite being told for an obese women with an epidural who had had major surgery this should be routine. I left the ward completely unprepared not helped by there being nobody to ring at the hospital for advice except NIC. When I rang, requesting advice about wound infection and bleeding she was no help at all I am a nurse so obviously I had more idea of bad practice than most but if I was a normal patient I would of felt abandoned and totally lost on level 9. The Stoma team was brilliant and one regular night nurse was fabulous and one HCA was also really good but this was the exception. Newly qualified nurses seemed lost spent 5 minutes doing obs. but 25 minutes recording them on the computer by that time had forgotten anything you had asked them to find out or fetch for you. Nobody answered buzzars. The whole experience, except for the few nurse I have mentioned, the Stoma team and surgeons, pre op.and theatre and recover staff has left me quite traumatised and although I know I have to go back in for a reversal I am not looking forward to it. Just a small point being able to leave a message for the digestive disorders surgical team via the secretaries would go along way to helping communications when the patient has left the ward, the nurses give no information on who to contact with a surgical related query ie wound infection when you have left the ward and the surgical secretary just does not have an answer phone.