To ask for your most awful hospital ward companion stories?

[stripeyronnie]

Currently on a postnatal ward. Only been here an hour. So far someone has eaten reheated curry which I can still smell. Next doors toddler is watching peppa feckin pig on loudspeaker and a different toddler is opening my curtain whilst playing with a fire engine with siren on. Luckily baby is used to being at home with similarly annoying siblings (we've been readmitted) so is sleeping through it all. DH has been dispatched home for earplugs and other things to keep me sane.

I was in hospital seven years ago,only for four days. I was admitted as an emergency due to an 'incarcerated umbilical hernia'.

On the day I was being discharged (thank goodness),a girl of about 17 or 18 was admitted and given the bed opposite me on a four bed ward. I've no idea what she was in for,but over the next couple of hours,more and more people arrived to see her. At one point,there was eight people clustered around her bed,and another TEN were siting in the day room,taking up every available seat,awaiting their turn to see her! Why the nursing staff didn't say something to them,I don't know,as there was a sign on the ward wall stating no more than two visitors at a time! My guess was that they were probably too afraid of a confrontation,as some of the visitors looked decidedly 'rough',if you know what I mean.

They were making a hell of a lot of noise,talking really loudly and guffawing with laughter. I'd been to the bathroom to have a shower before I got dressed to go home. Someone kept repeatedly trying the door of the bathroom during the twenty minutes I was in there. Why,I'm not sure. There was a toilet in there,but there was also another toilet on the same corridor. Besides which,there was a sign on the shower room door saying it was for patients' use only,and visitors should use the other toilet. When I emerged from the bathroom,wearing my dressing gown and with damp hair,one of the charming blokes in this group of visitors nudged the one next to him,looking at me,and said in a loud voice ''Ere,you can get in there now Bill,the slow coach has finally finished'. I was bloody fuming! If it hadn't been for the fact that I was going home in an hour or so,I would have complained.

After my c section I had to keep a catheter in as it was my 4th section and had a few mild complications. Had to empty it in the toilet myself. The toilet was right next to another woman's bed. After I emptied my bottle of wee, I came out and the woman and her partner were both staring at me. Then I heard him say unser his breath," Yeah that's her, every time she goes for a piss it's loads, like a fucking waterfall, what's up with her?"
I turned around and said " it's a catheter actually, seeing as you're so interested in listening to me go to the toilet".
Also, women's partners would always use the toilet on the ward that was intended for the women patients only, for them to change pads, shower etc and there would always be a man in there so you'd have to wait.

I was in for a skin graft, got half my calf torn off in an accident so I was pretty immobile. I also had a vacuum sponge packed into the wound attached to a huge suction machine. I couldn't draw the curtains so was stared at by everyone. Fortunately, 3 of the other patients were lovely and we chatted a lot. We were all having grafts. There was an older lady in for a graft next to me. She pretended to be asleep every time the others came to chat then when her dd visited, claimed that we were blanking her! She told everyone she hadn't eaten anything all day despite stuffing cake and biscuits down constantly. Then she couldn't poo- everyone heard the complaints- so got Dulcolax. The resultant explosion and smell were extraordinary. I dunno why she wasn't taken to the bathroom.

Her bed was a specialist air one to stop bedsores even tho her wound was teeny. It squeaked when failing, which was constant and I had to train the nurses how to re-set it throughout the night. The day after our operations, she was first to have the staples removed. She screamed. I was next and terrified! (Didn't hurt, but I think because my nerves were all sheared through)

One woman had lots of visitors, all of whom used the ward bathroom so it was disgusting. I finally managed to drag the machine to the loo, along with a crutch then had to balance everything whilst wiping the loo seat. 🤮

We had a poor woman with dementia who wandered from another ward in the evenings. She wanted to go home and just kept shouting. Bless her.

Last year, I was admitted for something to A&E and had to stay in overnight. I was right by the doors to the staff room, so wasn't able to sleep. I then saw 6 different doctors, none of whom could diagnose me (my DH did, confirmed by the GP, see Sporners Corner!) I've been dreading having any other problems!

General surgery ward after having broken wrist pinned and plated. Poor elderly lady with dementia clearly just dumped in our ward - shouted all day and night "I ain't no hairy Mary!'" .

Should have seen DH's face when he visited!

To those complaining about patients with dementia, please try to be a little more understanding of them.

If you find these poor people too noisy then wear earplugs, some wards supply them anyway.

When I was a 19 I had a massive infection following having my appendix out and was in for 8 nights very poorly. The bay I was in had 3 old ladies, two of whom used to make loud comments that "she sleeps a lot that one " (me, I was pretty ill...). But the other lady was quite infirm and needed a lot of help, she had some visitors and they got her a tv. She had Jereny Kyle on, not overly loud and seemed content. Except the other two ladies started loudly talking to each other about how they could never watch such rubbish and how it was awful and the other ladt turned the tv off and I dont think she turned it on again. I dont know why, it was 11 years ago but I still feel so sad about that. The lady has probably passed now and she wasnt able to enjoy an hours comfort because of others.

(I fully get that it could be an AIBU from the other two "I'm in hospital and another patient is loudly watching rubbish on telly" and the consensus would be NBU but it affected me for some reason)

My son got rushed into the children’s ward and my boyfriend was with us
The nurse in charge of us was only his bloody ex girlfriend with one hell of a grudge against him (she was about 3 girlfriends before me)
She made our lives a living hell for a week
Told lies about us as parents saying she had seen us doing things we hadn’t
Called social services on us for no reason
Tried to claim we where on drugs (with no proof-we didnt-still don’t)
I had a 5 minute break in the parent room and she moved him to the playroom-and left him so I’d freak out when I came back to an empty bed
Tried it on with my (now ex) boyfriend in the corridor
Said she would change my child’s nappy while I had a shower and didn’t-I came back to a social worker demanding why I had left him in a dirty nappy and lied when I said the nurse said she would
Kept us waiting til last for his food

I really wish I’d complained at the time but I just wanted away from the unhinged bitch

Never saw her again and I really hope karma but her ass

I was on an orthopedic ward having had spinal surgery ..... The other 5 residents has hip replacement!

The lady opposite me also has fibromyalgia.....I think !!!!
She mentioned it about 50 times per day !

I was in hospital for 3 weeks in July with SEPSIS, and was in my own (quiet, peaceful) side-room for 19 days, before moving onto the ward with 4 other women.

On my first night on the ward, I woke at 1:30am to find that the curtains had been pulled around the bed to my right and I could clearly hear a Priest giving the lady in the next bed her Last Rites. It was quite traumatic to listen to as the lady was audibly struggling for breath, but I must have drifted back to sleep eventually, as when I next woke, there was a new lady in the bed...

On my second night on the ward, I woke up around 4am, only to see that the curtains around the bed to my left had this time been pulled tightly round and once again, I could hear the Last Rites being administered, alongside the sobbing of the poor lady's family. It was heart-wrenching to hear and I felt awful, as if I was intruding on this incredibly private and painful moment. The emotion of the situation and the reality of just how poorly I had been, how close I had come to dying and the thought of my DDs, DH and DM sitting and watching over me really hit me in that moment and I just cried and cried (as quietly as I possibly could). The lady died soon after and in the morning, there was just an empty bed.

I was very glad - and thankful - to be discharged later that day.

I'm sorry you're having a rotten stay OP, I know how desperate I was to get home after all that. Wishing you the best of luck that you'll both be home, safe, sound and healthy as soon as possible.

They were trying to discharge a woman in her 80s for the weekend. She lived in rented accommodation, currently being repaired. As I said, she had no way to prepare food. She had no family or friends who could care for her. No one. A vulnerable adult. She told the clerk all of this.

They planned to dump her. No care plan. Nothing. I didn't believe it at first.

The woman who was bullying her - and I do not exaggerate - called her a bed blocker to her face.

Two of my immediate family were HCP and I was totally horrified by how the NHS treated this poor woman. Damn right i did my best to help her. And I'd do it again.

I was recently on a children’s ward with my 5yo. I woke in the morning and another patient had arrived overnight - she had been bitten by the family dog and had facial wounds and spent several hours in theatre. I spent the morning listening to her dad on the phone telling all and sundry how it wasn’t the dog’s fault, how the kid (aged 4) needed to learn to respect the dog’s space. How the poor dog was cooped up at home and how his wife’s parents wouldn’t walk it for him. I was incandescent at his attitude. The poor kid!

Prawnofthepatriarchy
Fair enough.

Very different from how you framed it initially.

I'm guessing your HCP immediate family were delighted about you vaping it under the sheets and, therefore, wasting the clinician teams' time.

Damn right i did my best to help her. And I'd do it again.

Crack on vaping under the sheets with your jolly rebel pals ready to shout "Cave!" and I'm sure you'll get the chance.

On a mixed ward as a temporary measure waiting for a bed on another ward having been admitted with serious post surgery infection. I was fast asleep full of drugs when the police crashed in to arrest the guy in the bed facing me, cops must have expected him to go quietly he didn't and kicked off BIG TIME a few mins passed and the tiny wards was filled with police everyone was shouting I was delirious with the infection and off my face on morphine was absolutely terrified. Ten minutes later all calm was restored I only found out the next day it was definitely real when a nurse from the previous night came in to see me.

For all the horror stories there are many more of the fantastic FREE care the NHS gives. I for one salute the hard working doctors and nurses and all the other members of staff. The NHS is another reason to be proud to be British.

Recently in for suspected appendicitis. In lots of pain.

Lady in bed opposite me talked to anyone who would listen. All. Fucking. Day. People were ill but humoured her. When her family came in pulled the curtains and said everyone was snobs who blanked her. Another who doesn't understand curtains aren't sound proof.

Bed diagonal was on the phone constantly and had Young men visiting a lot, I presumed family members, who took money off her each time they came. She was talking up a storm with them for hours too. Giggling and generally having a great time. When doctor came her pain was 10/10. 🙄

Bed next to me was a lady who was clearly early stages of organic illness and confused a lot of the times. Attempting to buy £200 of raffle tickets etc. She made me a bit sad as she was just there awaiting care package. She sundowned a lot so would wander about at night. She was sweet though. Her daughter visited as much as she could. She got very upset at another woman on the ward in later stages of organic illness who was screaming and crying 😢

After my son was born I had sepsis, crash section, and 14 days in hospital. It was hell. Tropical ward. I was 24 but looked 16 and people patronised or openly sneered at me constantly. I was so seriously ill I had an external pace maker. Women in bed next to me who has had an urgent section said "look, we had a similar time, I'm up and walking, no drips or drama, get on with it". I tried to walk after that and vomited green slime all over the ward. She didn't like that either.

Woman in the bed next to me and her baby were withdrawing from heroin and she looked like she had been severely battered. She left one day "for a fag" and didn't come back and the baby was quietly removed from the ward.

There is a lot of sadness in hospitals, I'm a nurse so have some insight into lives lived and all that. I don't work on wards anymore for that very reason. Not the service users but their families.

@shithappens123

The point of this thread is unrelated to the care or facilities provided by the hospitals (I am one of the NHS's biggest supporters) but is about other patients who make your life hell.

For all the horror stories there are many more of the fantastic FREE care the NHS gives. I for one salute the hard working doctors and nurses and all the other members of staff. The NHS is another reason to be proud to be British.

This is odd as there's very few people criticising staff. Just the people who treat them badly and are rude to them.

You mean free at the point of delivery shithappens123
We have all paid for it through our taxes

What is with some people!! I've never had anything as bad as some of these posts but I always remember having my 4th baby and was making the most of having a chilled 10 minutes of doing nothing whilst the baby was asleep and a visiting new grandmother across from me shouting hey what's wrong with you, happiest time of your life cheer up!! (I must have looked miserable but I honestly wasn't I was just enjoying the peace!) I was so embarrassed and then she wouldn't stop talking to me.
I always seem to have a performance patient (and visitors) in too you know the ones who talk really loud whilst looking round to make sure everyone is listening 😩

Not only did the NHS spring into action when suddenly I needed a pacemaker fitted, but I was on a ward with seven other women - they were all perfectly normally behaved and did not disturb me in any way.

I hope I didn't snore.

This isn't entirely my story to tell, but the delivery and postnatal wards DP was on were awful. On the delivery ward (yes, while she was in active labour) one of the nurses mistook my DP for a man and assumed I was the one in labour (I'm a size 12/14 ... I do not look pregnant). They were utter shits about letting me in to her during labour and she kept panicking. They forgot to feed her for hours. They told me I couldn't bring food for her as 'your partner isn't allowed food' (turned out she was, but they had automatically assumed my partner was a bloke visiting me, not my female partner in labour/post-birth). Wouldn't listen when I clarified that. Wouldn't let other visitors in because she already had a visitor (me) and you're only allowed one visitor plus your partner. And I was clearly her visitor.

Then they lost her records, didn't realise she'd lost blood during labour, didn't realise she'd had a section on the postnatal ward so ticked her off for being unable to lift the baby easily (while the woman opposite who'd had a section was told not to do too much, and we had no clue why they were treating her so differently). Forgot when she'd had morphine etc.

It was a really over-full ward and I think we were also the 'awful' ones as they came to tell us DD had sepsis in the middle of the night which must have woken everyone.

Thank goodness for the lovely nurses on the neonatal ward DD went to after, who made up for it all.

Regarding the vaping, LaMarschallin, my GP thinks it should be encouraged in hospitals. It's been strongly recommended to me in all circumstances. And vaping under the covers is an effective way to keep it away from others. Give it some thought before you get spiteful.