I love our NHS, I do, but OMG my experience this afternoon...

[NewMatress]

DH admitted yesterday. Long story, but he usually has his pain managed by the hospice and is generally comfortable. I gave the hospital the hospice discharge letter with a list of his prescribed meds, when he was admitted.

He's been calling me c. every hour crying with pain and begging to come home. I've spoken to the nurse in charge a number of time asking what's gone so wrong with his pain management. She's been quite rude saying that he's getting everything prescribed.

Anyway, eventually a McMillian nurse called me to check the dose as she thought the break through pain relief dose was low. It turns out they've been using a liquid with a concentrate of only 1/10 of the one he's actually prescribed. I.e his prescription is for 5ml of a 10mg per ml liquid every hour and they've been giving him 5ml of a 1mg per ml liquid.

Once we got to the bottom of that I thought he'd be more comfortable, but when I went to visit him this evening, he's still crying with pain because at 6:30 he was still waiting for the breakthrough pain relief he'd asked for at 3:30. The nurse told me it was because it needs a 2nd sign off as a controlled drug, which I understand, so get one! At which point she said well discharge yourself then. I'll get a doctor and you discharge yourself. The doctor never came, I'd love to talk to to a doctor, no one has yet been able to tell me why DH is still there, as they've established the chest pain he was admitted with is nothing more sinister than his usual cancer pain.

When he did eventually get the pain relief, both nurses were quite rude to me about my impatience and one accused me of saying I wanted her to lose her job, which was simply not true. I said I wanted her to do what was needed to get the pain relief I.e. find a second person.

Meantime, the man in the bed opposite as begging for help the whole time I was there. He has no use of his hands and no one would help him with a drink (I did) and when they brought his dinner they just left it for him with no means to actually eat it. I marked my card again by insisting that someone help him.

I'm exhausted and I'm not the one who's ill. Don't tell me everyone in the NHS is an angel. I get it's tough but this is simply not OK.

That's not acceptable at all, I'm so sorry

No, none of that is OK. I know you have enough on your plate OP bu I'd consider putting in a complaint to PALS.

I'm afraid I've seen similar things in hospital during the pandemic. Your husband's experience is unacceptable. So was my fathers. I've well and truly had my eyes opened and I don't think the nhs is a holy grail at all.

When my Mum was treated short of compassionately I complained to PALS. I still feel guilty I didn’t do more. Complain more or be more insistent.

So sorry for you and your Dh. From personal experience it’s worth talking to PALS - they were very helpful when a family member was in hospital.

No indeed. That is beyond awful. Please document your experiences yesterday and give it all to PALS.
Both your DH's pain mismanagement, which sounds truly terrible and inexcusable, and the inhuman treatment of that other poor man.

I worked in a central london hospital, admin role, dealing with complaints. It was so distressing to hear these stories over and over again that I had to leave.

Sadly the NHS is rather broken. It’s still capable of being amazing in certain situations but in general it is dreadful. It wasn’t until I moved to a different European Country I realized this. Drs horrified at non treatment of DS. Just to save money when really what he needed was a relatively simple operation. I feel very sad when I see the lack of care friends and relatives get.

Forget PALS. Go straight to the Matron of that ward.

Bloody disgusting. What they have done is a drug error and a datex should be filled in as a patient has come to harm due to their incompetence.

That would never happen on my ward. Absolutely vile.
Yes we are short staffed and stressed but patients come first, always. ALWAYS.
Complain. I’m so sorry about your experience.

I've complained to PALS at this hospital before, about something that seemed awful at the time, but not this bad. I was told 7 working days for a response, which isn't very helpful when a patient needs help now. DH was transferred to another hospital before the 7 days were up and I never did get a response.

Please complain about this, it's totally unacceptable.

I'm so sorry you and your DH experienced this. I spent a lot of time in hospital a few years ago and unfortunately your story doesn't surprise me at all.

The NHS isnt fit for purpose

Dd had allergic reactions to medicine in January February and march, she was referred for allergy tests at the end of April

She had the tests...her follow up appointment is in October

Fucking ridiculous!

I’m so sorry your husband is suffering like this, i hope it gets resolved!

Your poor Dh.

I have a potentially fatal rare condition which means medication must be administered at particular times (Addison’s disease). It’s not complex, just steroids but they must be given at specific times. I’m a member of the Addison’s uk Facebook page and I cannot tell you the amount of times people have been pushed into near fatal adrenal crisis by staff on the wards at hospital just ignoring the simple advice that steroids must be given at specific times - a delay of an hour can lead to crisis. They just expect us to fall in with ward drug round times - one woman in the Addison’s page wasn’t given any steroids for nearly 12 hours in hospital last week. She collapsed and nearly died.

Nurse hear

No excuse whatsoever for this. It’s disgraceful please report it.

@NewMatress

I've complained to PALS at this hospital before, about something that seemed awful at the time, but not this bad. I was told 7 working days for a response, which isn't very helpful when a patient needs help now. DH was transferred to another hospital before the 7 days were up and I never did get a response.

Pals have always been useless for me. I found the formal complaints page on the hospitals website and made a complaint via there and cced in the chief executive of the hospital.

You need to complain in writing. Take some pictures and include them in the complaint

I was visiting my friend in hospital after she'd had a bad accident, pre-Covid. There was an old lady opposite, sitting in a chair, who was ringing her buzzer and calling for a nurse. Repeatedly. No-one came. I went to the nurses' station and mentioned the old lady and got a 'yeah, someone will be there in a minute' attitude.

The old lady ended up wetting herself. All over the chair, the floor. Then, a nurse came, and told her off!

So yeah, angels, my arse.

I'm afraid that these sorts of stories aren't new or even Covid related. I could write a book on the things I saw on wards from the 4 years my DD spent in and out of an adult ward at our General hospital dating back to 2012. As she had a severe learning disability I camped out at her bedside whenever she was admitted so gad a 24/7 view of what went on- not just with the shortcomings in DD's care but in the appalling care of those who had noone there to speak up for them. Complaints made no difference due to the management culture which I felt was largely responsible for the attitudes of some of the staff.

I took my vomiting au pair to a & e at 2am (pre covid). She was retching like you wouldn't believe. Even the receptionist came out to check on her. The triage nurse said I shouldn't have brought her in but called an out if hours GO and gave ne such attitude.
Anyway, turns out one of my school mum frirnds is married to the head of A & E. She said that was ridiculous there are no out if hours GPS after midnight. She asked who the nurse was and she was reprimanded.
If you work with people, especially people who are distressed, vulnerable, scared and sick, you don't pull an attitude. You don't have one on any job, but particularly not this one.
Nurses and other NHS staff are not the only ones overworked and underpaid.

It’s hard getting people to believe how awful some nurses can be. Some of course are wonderful.

My husband was diagnosed with clear cell carcinoma in March. This is after it was first stated as a strong possibility on the 5 November.

He isn't having the kidney removed until 17 June.

It seems to be taking a long time. I hope this doesn't affect him long term.

I love the NHS but it's asked to do a lot on the bare minimum!

I feel for you all. In my own and my mother’s experience, this is nothing to do with Covid. Myself, my mother and my daughter have seen the very best of the NHS, the very worst, and something in between. By all means complain, but the way to fix this is funding. Which means all of us putting our hands in our pocket and all of us using our vote sensibly. So sorry to hear what a tough time your DH has had.

Absolutely unacceptable. Definitely take this further. I loathe all the NHS hero script we’ve had forced down our necks over the past 14 months. Like in all jobs; some are good, some are awful.