to expect to get offered breakfast or at least a cup of tea before now on a ward ?

[shocknews]

I know people are busy etc (midwives don't do the food/drink here) but would it be particularly out of order to have hoped to be offered at least a cup of tea before 9.30am ! I delivered yesterday lunchtime, was given no lunch but was offered 2 slices of toast after i'd been sorted out etc. Then the tea scrum was at 6 (you get what there is left, no orders taken etc) and between then and now, not even a cup of tea or glass of water offered ! I had to ask for a jug of water at 11pm when I gave up waiting patiently ! How can they expect me to try to breast feed with no sustinence ?

...... or am I just hormonal and absolutely knackered from 3 sleepless nights already ?

I got DH to bring me take aways in. I would have starved otherwise.

When I had DD3 (ELSCS) the food in the hospital was awful, but at least we got fed.

I transferred to our local MLU the next day and the food was ace. They said I could go home on the Sunday but I told DH not to collect us until after teatime as I wanted to stay for the roast dinner and Arctic Roll

I was admitted to our local hospital in Essex with recurrent severe abdominal pain - I had been into A&E twice with it prior to this, and finally they kept me in, to try to find out what was wrong with me.

I was nil by mouth for the first 36+ hours, and then had exploratory abdominal surgery. Following this, I was in a side-ward and once dh went home, I was all on my own. I came back from Theatre at about 4.30pm, and was told I couldn't have anything to eat, until I had had something to drink and kept it down - but no water was forthcoming for me to sip, so I had to wait until the evening drinks trolley came round at about 8pm, when I finally got something to drink.

This stayed down, so I asked the night staff if I could have something to eat, and finally, at around midnight, I was brought two of the coldest, toughest, most leathery slices of toast I have ever eaten - frankly I wouldn't have choked them down if I hadn't been starving.

The next day, breakfast was just cereal, and I was sooo looking forward to lunch, but due to the after effects of the anaesthetic, I nodded off just before lunchtime, and woke up to see the lunch trolley heading away from the ward, past my door. I had to get myself out of bed (first day post op, incision, drip in my hand) and chase the trolley to get them to bring me something to eat, otherwise I would have been left with nothing at all.

Oh - and the night before, when I had recovered somewhat from the anaesthetic, I needed to go to the loo, so a healthcare assistant escorted me there, and left me - and never came back! I waited for a while, and then sorted myself out, went back to my bed, made my bed and got back in - thankfully without falling over and busting my stitches!

When I trained, it was standard practice that once a patient had woken up from their anaesthetic, and was a bit brighter, they got their hands and face washed (to freshen them up a bit) and were helped back into their own nightclothes. It would have been unthinkable for a patient not to get their post-op wash once they were ready for it - yet at Southend General Hospital (now a university hospital), the only way I got a wash at all was because I was able to go and get one myself.

In the whole time I was on the ward, I never once saw the sister/charge nurse. I may have trained in somewhat oldfashioned days, but when I trained, the nurse in charge on each shift did at least one round during their shift and spoke to all the patients - even if it was just to ask how they were feeling.

There are far too many stories like the ones on this thread. The answer is more nursing staff who are trained well, care, and understand that the simple things, like nutrition, hydration and hygiene are just as much a part of nursing care as the more technical or specialist tasks.

OMG! I am horrified at all these stories! I had marvellous treatment when I had all my three, from the MWs and Nursing staff. I had to have an elective section with DD1 (I was an old first timer and she was breech and nearly 9lbs) I was so upset as I had waited so long to start a family and felt that everything was "going wrong". Poured my heart out to the MW who admitted me and she stayed over an hour beyond her shift finishing to latch DD1 on and make sure she fed when I was still out from the anaesthetic! When I had DD2 she had bilateral CDH and I missed supper because the orthopod had arrived to look at her. As soon as he had gone one of the MWs appeared with a cup of tea and some toast with a broad smile and, "you missed your supper honey, here you go!" I know this was all 15 years ago and more but wtf happened?

When I was admitted to SAU once at 5pm they were serving dinner but I was nil by mouth awaiting poss op. Went down at 10pm ish and at 1am once settled on the ward was given (almost forced!) tea and toast. HCA was lovely, helped me into pjs and to loo. Apparently though my BP was quite low (98/58?) so that might have had something to do with it. I'd not really eaten for a week as was so ill so it filled me up.

These stories unfortunately don't surprise me. I was induced with dd and the care on the induction ward was great - food and drink available, midwives telling me to ignore pushy, idiot registrar .

I ate something in the early afternoon, went into labour and delivered dd at 3 in the morning. I went on to the post-natal ward around 6am, wasn't told anything about going into another room for breakfast so missed it. Someone plonked a plate of meat in front of me at lunchtime, I asked if there was anything suitable for vegetarians and she replied "no" and walked away. There was no food available for me at tea time. I wasn't offered a single cup of tea and had to ask repeatedly for a jug of water.

My dh was at home trying to catch up on some sleep as he'd also been up all night, so no-one around to nip to the shops/canteen. I nearly fainted when we were carrying dd to the car which, seeing as I'd been through labour and had had nothing to eat for well over 24 hours, wasn't surprising.

On the postnatal ward after birth of DS (by c-section) I didn't get anything to eat that wasn't brought in by DH. Apparently there was some room down the very far end of the long ward where food was available, but (a) I only found out about this on the day I was discharged, (b) I couldn't have walked that far, and (c) WTF are you meant to do with the baby while going down there? No way could I have pushed him in his wheely cot after the surgery anyway. I hate the whole philosophy of postnatal wards, which assumes new mothers are completely fit and well and able to do everything for themselves immediately after delivery, which just isn't true for many people (particularly those who've had surgical intervention). No other ward in the hospital does such an appalling job of meeting people's basic needs.

Euphemia - unsure why you're PYSL at croissants served for breakfast? We give out litre jugs of water at 7am + refill as needed. Many of our pts are on fluid charts, anyone with BMI under 20 gets a food chart. Due to the nature of our ward (surgical wounds, elderly or disabled people with serious chronic conditions), then nutrition is a major focus for us. Shame to hear about all your bad experiences but i'm sick of nurses being slagged off all the time. We don't all enter nursing to starve and neglect patients!! If you have specific complaints then put them in writing - take positive action.

I had no problem with getting fed during hospital stays for births of DCs - in fact can remember being given lunch as I was being stitched up after birth of DS!

However, when was admitted with appendicitis last year ended up being on nil by mouth for over 3 days while waiting for an operation which was postponed 3 times and not being told in time to get a meal (or even a cup of tea) before being put back on nil by mouth after being put on the theatre list for the next day.

For 2 of those 3 days I received no fluids by IV as my drip had fallen out and no-one could be found to replace it.

I ended up drinking water anyway as I was so dehydrated.

I appreciate that there isn't always the capacity for staff to be able to bring meals.

But on my second day in (DS had grade 3 meconium so we had a longer stay that should have) I was asleep at lunchtime (ie the 45 mins they set the sandwiches out in the corridor). When I woke up it was something like 2.10pm. I asked if there was any lunch. The blankly told me 'No. Lunch is served between 1pm and 1.45pm'

I couldn't trek too far given the hideous bleeding I was having, which lead to a lack of strength. Which in turn meant I wouldn't have been able to carry DS too far (to the 24 hour hospital canteen).

Thank god I was being discharged that afternoon. Promptly got taken to my mum's and practically inhaled half a steak pie.

All I'd had since he was born was sandwiches and toast....

There seems to be a lack of communication too - if I recall correctly, shergar is not the only person to mention that she didn't even know where breakfast was served until too late. When I was on the post-natal ward after having ds1, they had a similar system - but new patients were shown where to go, and told when, by a member of staff.

Larajade - perhaps you could answer some questions for me about current nursing practice.

Do you still use a tool like Maslow's heirachy of needs to assess each patient and to write their care plan when they are admitted?

Are basic nutrition, hydration and hygiene part of the care plan, and if they are, how do nurses monitor these, given that they are often not giving these basic elements of care? Do the HCAs report to the qualified staff who then write the reports and assess whether the care plan is meeting the patient's needs, or do the HCAs do this themselves? As a student nurse, I wrote care plans, implemented them, and reported on them to the qualified staff - and if a patient in my care had been left without water or food, my head would have been on the block!

Do patients still get a 'post op wash' after surgery as standard? Or are they expected to care for themselves? Is it normal to expect a patient who has had abdominal surgery less than 6 hours ago to get themselves back from the bathroom and make their own bed so they can get back in it?

Is it no longer normal practice for the nurse in charge on each shift to do a round and speak to each patient?

I gave birth in a state of the art London teaching hospital yet my baby and/or I could easily have died without anyone noticing for many hours. I have no idea if there was an area where I could have made myself breakfast and had a cup of tea, but can safely say no one told me about it or brought me any food/ drink after the one cup of tea post birth.

My experience is a long time back (14 years). After giving birth, I was too weak to even sit up, let alone get out of bed. Ultimately it turned out that I have a bleeding disorder and had lost so much blood post-partum that my haemogobin levels were down to transfusion levels but I did not know that at the time. trying to sit up in bed made me suffer severe angina and pass out. I could not begin to reach my nb baby who was in a cot next to me and so she was not fed, washed, changed or cuddled for 12 hours after her birth. I was the end bed on the ward, furthest from the nurses' station, but kept hoping a nurse/ anyone would arrive and ask me if I was ok (no). Needless to say, I was unable to stand and go find a nurse myself. After a few hours, I rang the call bell at intervals but nobody came. It was the night but even so..... Eventually I rang the emergency bell and a nurse came running but only to tick me off for pulling it, and left again without giving me a chance to explain (I had very little strength to talk).

Finally, the next morning, I got out of bed because I had to do something, and immediately passed out on the floor. A man visiting another mother in the ward realised there was a big problem and got me medical help. I think even the staff were then quite shocked that my DD was still covered in blood from the birth and unfed, and I was so anaemic that I should have been unconscious. They were worried that DD might have fallen into a diabetic coma going such a time without nutrition (bless her, at 9 lbs it turned out she was okay for 12 hours without milk). Clearly my brain was not working properly through lack of oxygen otherwise I would have carried on with the emergency cord. Mostly, I slept.

Personally, I would not step foot in an NHS hospital again without a mobile phone (not standard 14 years back) and a private nurse on 24 hour shift, or a relay of friends/ rellies to get me food, water and to intervene to get medical attention when required.

Oh, on the plus side, the birth had been very easy

Had fabulous care in Addenbrookes last year. Very well looked after in the daytime, nice nurses, lots of good food if rather bland, and a special 24h kitchen with help yourself sandwiches and simple snacks for people with the munchies between meals. I was very impressed.

We had croissants too. But then this is East Angular.

In a certain London teaching hospital 2 years ago, my post-birth breakfast was 2 slices of brown bread with a pat of marge on the topmost one. And a plastic cup of tepid tea. It was the first food I'd had since giving birth to DS at 2am the night before. In fact, I wasn't even offered so much as a drink after his birth - a birth that had been preceded by an ambulance transfer, a ban on even water as they thought I'd need a surgical delivery (I didn't) and that ended with a post partum haemorrage. Luckily DH found a tap and we had a sports bottle we could fill up.

Second time round (in a different hospital), earlier this year, half my hospital bag consisted of eatables. Lucky really as DD was born just before 9am and the labour ward midwives looked blank when I asked for some breakfast. IIRC I was told I'd get lunch on the PN ward. I did: a salad, ordered by the last occupant of the bed. Was not, to my mind, ideal post-birth fodder. Thank god for the sandwiches, cereal bars, Jaffa cakes and fruit in my bag.

StayingDavidTennantsGirl - our care plans are pre-designed a based on ADLs inc. nutrition + hygiene. Each staff nurse updates their allocated plans each shift + HCAs can add to them. Post op patients have to pass measured urine - if they can walk safely we like to accompany them at least the first time. Their beds + pillows are always made comfy. In evenings we check pressure areas. We dont change gowns always cos wounds often bleed ++ first night. Basic washes + teeth cleans are offered but often turned down. As protocol all post ops are given water, then hot drink, then sandwich. We give light food initially to avoid vomiting.
We identify + assist patients who need feeding or supplements. We use and update tools such as MUST scoring, Waterlow and MEWS (everyone gets observations 4x a day). Only staff nurses can do obs for those with epidurals/ morphine pumps. Fluid charts are kept to monitor for dehydration / overload / kidney failure. Staff nurses do all basic care - not many HCAs here. We have team nursing - 30 pts split between 2 teams. Nurse handing over for each team does meds and speaks to each patient.
I do know a lot of wards + hospitals aren't great though from what patients + friends say, but it's hard not to get angry when you've worked so hard all day + some people are so negative about nurses.

Ps every patient gets a bed bath / assisted wash or shower each morning.

I do think they should be bringing round fresh water actually. That seemed standard throughout the postnatal unit when I was in there. Ditto hot drinks- the trolley came round about 5 times a day.

Re meals, they only brought them to people who were in a bad way- ie me and the other women on my ward (transition ward, for mothers whose babies were in nicu), and those who'd had c sections. I think that's fair. Unless you've had complications there's no reason not to saunter down to the meal room.

I have not too fond memories of my first delivery in hospital in 1993, where I swear they tried to starve me to death: arrived Thurs 8 pm, before my supper, but after theirs after dramatic rupture of membranes (ie they wouldn't let me go home again), laboured without food all through Friday and until Saturday 2pm before baby finally born, meaning best part of 72 hours on empty stomach. By the time he was born I'd missed lunch and there was nothing else to eat, got back to ward around 4pm after being stitched up etc, and had to wait till 6:30 for first food in over 3 days. Luckily my husband went out and bought me a large 400g bar of chocolate that I devoured in about 5 minutes. I was literally starving!

What a lot of horror stories, I really feel for those of you who have had bad experiences with this, especially those where it has affected your health or that of your baby.

Everybody locally says our mat ward is wonderful so I'm hoping food etc. will be provided when needed. However, I did have a question, are they normally OK about people bringing food in, like DH bringing stuff from home etc. I really don't like sweet things like jam etc. for breakfast, and cereal usually makes me nauseous, so I would prefer DH to bring me a cheese sandwich or similar. Will he have to sneak it in as contraband, or do they completely not mind?

D

Larajade - thankyou for answering my questions - it is clear that your hospital is using best practice, and I wish I'd had my op on your ward. As an ex nurse it makes me angry to see when standards are allowed to lapse, but I equally understand your anger when you see sweeping criticisms of nursing too.

It is ridiculous that post natal wards stick so rigidly to only providing food at set mealtimes.

Labour does not conform to conventional mealtimes and many labour wards will not allow you to eat when in labour.

So when it is finally all over (possibly after several days) it must be obvious that the new mother is going to be utterly starving.

It does seem that we are now in a third world situation in that hospital patients need regular visitors just to make sure they get a meal.

I would have to be at death's door to be persuaded to go into hospital as an in patient again.

The feeling of being utterly lost and ignored I had when I was in for appendicitis was really frightening. I really felt I could have died, either of starvation or septicaemia, as it did not seem to be anyone's job to take care of me.

After one day in hospital, I provided all my food when it became clear it either wasn't forthcoming or was inedible.

I even brought a travel kettle, UHT milk sachets, sugar and tea for my own cuppa.

And my own pain meds.

When I had DD2, thankfully it was a quick birth at 10AM. I was home by 6, stopping to pick up a lovely curry and bottle of beer on the way home.

Scoffed the beer whilst she nursed, then we tucked up in bed.