by walking out of hospital?

[TheCatsFlaps]

Hellish pain from a small kidney stone, worse than child birth. Admitted to hosp twice. First occadion saw a lovely consultant who was empathetic and explaind everything. Got home and two weeks later was back with a vegenece. It truly is agony.

Saw my consultant late afternoon. We'll do a CT tomortow and send you off for some extracorporal shockwave lithotripsy. Next morning, this shitty hospital feeds vulerable patients in the corridor. A new doctor - a registrar stood next to this man and discussed my case in detail. He xame in to see me znd said it "may be a kidney stone" and I "might get a scan today". Stood talking to a newly qualified and said whether you act depends upon "who your patient is and whst dort of doctor you are". Catsflaps can take strong painkillers, so why waist our time? I packed up my overnight bag and left immediately. No one said where are you hoing, because not a single member of staff would look at me. I was so tired as a dementia patient had been admittdd snd shouted "hello, helloooo" all night. At first I though his disease must be affecting his cognition, til he snarled at one of the nurses and told her to FUCK OFF YOU DYKE CUNT!!!

That morning a trained nurse snapped at md to get in my chair to get my breakfast. I asked if I could have shower first as I had been sweating through the night. She huffed an alright at me. Did I get snh breakfast, did I fuck.

A registrar overruling a consultant? Discussing confidentisl information in a corridor right next to znother patient? Saying I may have a kidney stone when the fucking ct showed it, or it might be somethinb sinister? Keeping me in for 24 hrs on the now weak promise of a scan and given paracetamol tablets I csn take at home. WIBU in walking out?

No excuse for staff bring rude to you. Don't walk out. Speak to another doctor tomorrow.

No you were not being U.

I had similar at 5 months pregnant last year - had numbness down one side of my body do dr (who is known to be over the top) sent me to the stroke ward - I had a severe iron deficiency that no one had picked up on for months or about ten blood tests.

It was horrible - I was left on a trolley in the admissions ward for over 24 hours - had people wailing all night. One consultant bought a trainee with him and just talked about me as if I wasn't there.

I really wish I had walked out - I didn't even have the scan they were discussing they just said 'you can go' in the morning. I never even made it to the stroke ward.

I am grateful for the NHS and have received some brilliant treatment but this doesn't mean you have to put up with crap situations like this.

Contact PALS and go back to your GP. I have had kidney stones years ago and yes - is incredibly painful - I actually collapsed in the loo at hospital. Mine did clear up without treatment but I know lots of people need blasting or whatever they do. Hope you're ok

The number of people with gallstones is such that I think they rely on some people deciding to pit up with the pain rather than subject themselves to such medical ministrations as a way of keeping waiting lists down. No one will be disappointed, or criticised, if you leave. They will simply conclude that the pain can't have been that bad after all.

I don't think it is good form to leave a hospital without informing the desk.

I do think you were treated appallingly, but you still should let them know

a dementia patient had been admittdd snd shouted "hello, helloooo" all night. At first I though his disease must be affecting his cognition, til he snarled at one of the nurses and told her to FUCK OFF YOU DYKE CUNT!!!
YABU for this. If the man has dementia, his cognition is affected (that's the primary symptom), this can lead to disinhibition so would be precisely why he said this.

I would also think you were being a little unreasonable to be annoyed that you weren't getting any breakfast after going to get a shower first - that's fine if that's what you want to do but expecting everything to be held up for you so that you can do things to your own timetable is a little ill considered.
That said the attitude of the doctors would put me off but I wouldn't let that stop me getting treatment if I was in pain, I'd point out to them what the issues were.

YABU about the breakfast thing. Wards have to run on routine and you can't expect nurses to cater for everyone wanting meals at different times. It's not a hotel.
You are also being unreasonable about the dementia patient. Any one of us could get this hideous disease and a little empathy wouldn't go amiss.

You do sound rather as though you're cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Unless you are laying private prices, you can't expect patients with dementia to have their own rooms, or be kept somewhere you don't have to hear them.

Nor can you expect breakfast whenever you feel like it, unless you go and buy your own.

Stay or go. You are the only one who'll suffer, honestly no one else will care
You'll just be freeing up space for the next person.

And as an aside, why exactly do you think what the other patient said is a sign his cognition was not affected by his condition? I'd have assumed the opposite.

Sympathy for most things but not your dementia comment - sorry but you are well out of order there. I hope you get seen soon but if you want the stone sorted then you will need treatment.

agree with others on the dementia comment.
with the breakfast thing yabu. let a member of staff know if you are unhappy with anything, i wouldnt just walk out.

YABU. You don't know the Registrar 'over ruled' the Consultant. That seems unlikely so I bet if you had stayed you would have got your CT scan. You'll never know now, your loss.

Also demands about showers before breakfast - get real, it isn't a hotel with staff to wait on you. You have to fit into the ward routine, the priority has to be medical care, not providing a hotel service.

Poor old dementia man & the people who had to care for him. You sound so self involved, the system cannot be run around you. Go private if you want that but it will cost you & the medical care may not be as good.

You need to make a formal complaint

Complain about eating in the corridor and the discussion being so public and only coming away with paracetamol.

OP only came away with paracetamol because she walked out! Registrars don't usually over rule consultants, so if she stayed she may well
have found she was booked for her scan. Communication sounds poor, but stropping off doesn't help anyone.

Agree with comments about dementia patient but you are under stress. NHS is not the state religion which we must honour without question. Contact PALS service.

I'm sorry you are unwell and hope all is sorted soon.

When you are in a hospital ward, unless the patient and their bed is wheeled into a private room, then all conversations with medical staff will be overhead by the rest of the ward.
It's just the way it is.

Maybe going for a shower as breakfast is about to be served wasn't a wise or considerate move.

Poor you.

I decided long ago to never go to hospital as long as I can still walk.

Could/can you not be treated as an out patient? Why did you have to spend the night there?

So when you picked up your bag and left did you expect the staff to come running after you?

you left? - how is that going to get you better?

Sorry but ywbu. You won't get the scan now will you?

If I was in more pain than childbirth I couldn't have given a shiny shit who over heard what conversations or walked out of hospital. What are you going to do now? They definitely cant give you a scan when you're not there!

I haveuch sympathy OP. I had a horrific experience with DD last year and ended up walking out with her (the reason they wanted her in overnight was not clinical, it was so she would be 'on hand' for the consultant when he came in at 9.30am. FFS we live 10 mins away )
I complained and got a crappy letter saything that they 'were sorry I felt I had bee treated badly'
I wrote back saying that I HAD been treated badly, it was nothing to do with my perception of wha happened and if they think that their apology of an apology was enough then that goes a long way to explaining why the NHS is close to ruin. They treated my case a bit more seriously after that.

Being in hospital is crap so you have my sympathy. I wouldn't have walked out, though. I think YWBU not waiting for your shower until after breakfast - it's not a hotel, it's a free and overstretched public service (and you can just ask one of the nice nurses or HCAs to get you a bowl of cereal afterwards!). What the registrar said doesn't actually sound inconsistent with the consultant to me but if you think it was you can point this out to the registrar, ask to see the consultant or go to PALS. As for "you may get a scan today" - I waited three days for an urgent orthopaedic operation after breaking my leg, in surgical traction and nil by mouth every day for hours because they were hoping to get me into surgery, because it's a hospital and their priorities change as new patients are admitted who might need the scan more than you did. If they weren't discharging you, they intended to treat you.

I do get how awful hospital is but YABU to walk out when you need treatment and are in such pain. I hope you feel better soon but I sort of think you should go back.

Maybe to some extent you get what you give? When I had a broken leg they wanted to keep me in over weekend for scan on Monday. We had polite discussion & it was agreed I could go home & come back on Monday. Politeness cuts both ways & I am certainly not the type to hassle busy staff by insisting on a shower just when they are trying to get breakfast out.

Sorry to hear that you are ill OP and in pain.
YABU about the dementia patient though. This disease is dreadful - utterly, utterly desperate. You have no idea what is like to suffer from this or to care for someone with it - and it goes on for years. And dementia patients are among some of the worst treated people both in hospital and in our society.

Hospitals are understaffed, overcrowded, overused and at breaking point.

I agree you have had a horrible experience - and I am sorry. If I were you I'd start the process again and get the treatment you need. Good luck

I guess you've already got that YABU about the dementia patient and breakfast, although annoying you didn't get any sleep, there simply aren't resources to care for dementia patients in separate wards when admitted as emergencies. Although I know staff do try to position them as best they can in the ward, where space and patient need allows. Clearly breakfast is not served between the hours of x and x, it is served at a set time and you either participate or not. Unfortunately showering during breakfast will mean you miss out (especially if the ward is so busy you're in a corridor, often at quieter times staff will fix a round of toast etc for patients if they can).

However your very best way of getting the tests and treatment you need is often to end up in a bed in hospital. The hospital will be keen to treat and discharge you home. Although hard to do at the time, I would have spoken up to the doctors and asked them to clarify the plan. Or if not, speak to the nursing staff on the ward and/or ask to speak to the consultant again. Prepare some questions, especially as the consultants often do a PM ward round before going home.

Sadly now you're home, you'll have to start the process again. Unfortunately waiting for outpatient diagnostic testing and treatment is often long. You may get somewhere by writing to PALS to complain about the poor communication of your treatment plan (although everyone in the surrounding beds will hear your details even when on a ward). It's not ideal to be on a trolley in a corridor but the alternative is not to admit you at all.