How do I make a complaint whilst still an inpatient and very sick?

[Christmastits]

I had my catheter removed today by a health care assistant.

She said I had to press the buzzer when I needed to pee, so I did. I can't walk unaided because I'm
Very weak and I'm on oxygen. So I need a commode or a bed pan.

I pressed the buzzer and 15 separate times a staff member came in and turned off the buzzer and said they'd be back in a bit. The last one told me to wait and unplugged the buzzer

I pissed myself in a hospital bed at the age of 26. I actually pissed myself. I was so humiliated. I feel so ashamed.

I pressed the buzzer and nothing happened so I had to wait for someone to come into my room which was another hour or so. I did shout but the door was shut due to infection control.

She came back eventually and told me off for peeing myself, and then outside the door called me a dirty cow.

Then to add insult to injury 3 hours later the dr came by and asked where my catheter was as I'm still on hourly urines.. so I've been re- catheterised so the whole thing was pointless.

Anyway. How do I go about making a formal complaint without making my care worse? I want to discharge myself and go home but that's not an option.

That's absolutely awful care!! Im so sorry to hear it. Please go to pals as well as the charge nurse to make sure your complaint is logged properly, on a ward with such poor culture is be suprised if there wasn't a lot of complaints that go unrecorded. PALS can visit you as an inpatient, there should be a phone number on the hosp website. You'll be helping patients for the future too. I expect some of the elderly patients are less able to voice their worried and needa than you so please help protect them if you can by comolaining.

You need to contact the complaints department (ex compliant dept worker here). Don’t bother going through PALs - this is a really serious complaint. I’m so sorry this has happened to you. When you’re well (or if you’re comfortable with your husband writing the letter for you) write a full report of everything that happened and send it in. A full investigation will be done.

I'm not dismissing your experience as it sounds dreadful. But as you're a nurse in the same hospital, surely you'd know how to contact PALS etc?

Please do complain. A few years ago I was rushed into hospital with meningitis, isolated on a ward with an IV drip for company, I was desperate for a wee early hours of the morning, I tried to get up only to find the person who put my drip in had wrapped the cords around the bed, so I was effectively chained to the bed, pressed the buzzer for nearly 40 minutes and nobody came, I too eventually pissed myself.

Its mortifying, and I was so sick I didn't have the energy to be angry, but really wish id complained about how that drip has been put into me.

What a bunch of bastards. And how unsurprising from some of the horrors I've seen.
Complain to PALS now. But also let your MP know.
You are very vulnerable in hospital and don't want to complain. Which is why this horrible stuff still goes on.

How awful! I’m so sorry your care has been so rubbish. Do you get on with your senior nurse? Worth ringing and asking them to drop in for a visit and perhaps advocating for you?

That’s so horrible, good luck this morning xx

That's awful OP.

Last year I was also admitted to hospital and put on a ward full of 80+ dementia patients.
I'm not justifying the staff's treatment of you but, my goodness, they have their hands full with some of these more difficult patients.

Get well soon

Did the staff assume you would be able to transfer from the bed to the commode yourself ? had they positioned it right next to the bed ? I get the feeling they are used to dealing with people who are a lot older and are not appreciating that even a young person can be poleaxed by ill health . Why enter the room 15 times and not take 5 minutes to help you transfer onto the commode ?

This is horrific. I hope they take your complaint seriously.

I read your other thread, poor you, things are going from bad to worse to terrible.

I hope dh is there with you now, and that this appalling lack of due care doesn't happen again.

How awful for you. I hope you managed to get some sleep at least.

I'm glad you've got your husband coming to witness the conversation. I also work in the NHS and this stuff needs reporting.

Hope you feel better soon.

OP, that's so awful. I do hope you get proper care from now on. Could you perhaps be transferred to another hospital?

Wishing you well OP, completely different but I was bed ridden after an abdominal hysterectomy and couldn't move and unless you've been in that position you can't understand how vulnerable it makes you feel not being able to get out of bed on your own and needing help to get to the loo.

Definitely complain. Your DH sounds fabulous so get him to back you up. Hope you're feeling better soon.

This is neglect, of the worst sort. It happens all the time, usually with the elderly. I’d contact PALS and possibly, my MP with a copy to Jeremy Hunt. Seems over the top? I don’t think so. It’s about standards and this Govt. have bled the nhs dry and the resulting appalling standards, are what ordinary tax payers are having to put up with. You can bet all those responsible will NEVER be in your situation, OP.

Absolutely disgusting.

No one deserves such neglect and abuse.

I'm so sorry you are going through this after the dreadful time you have been through already.

I hope things improve for you

How did it go, Christmas? I really hope you get some resolution, because your treatment was really, really poor.

This is dreadful. Please complain. Having experienced similar both as a patient and seeing it happen to my husband I wish I had been strong enough to complain.

As a nurse I'm disgusted. Ring pals from your hospital bed... actually ring your colleagues!

I hope you managed to get a sensible and sensitive conversation today with someone who can do something.

I wouldn’t expect someone to know the most effective way to complain in aspecific situation as a patient simply because she works in the hospital when well.

I’ve been humiliated in similar ways whilst in hospital. It’s not nice, and this lack of respect for staff and patients alike contributes.

Sadly, in a culture where patients are considered so negatively (time wasters, bed blockers, should be grateful for anything they get etc), this kind of thing will happen all the time.

Let us know how you get on Op

If you are a nurse in the same hospital as you are a patient - how do you not know how to make a complaint? You would have had safeguarding training, you would know about PALS.