Disgusting hospital

[Furyfurious]

I was discharged from hospital this week following surgery and a 5 night stay at an NHS hospital. I am absolutely traumatised. What I have seen and been exposed to was totally shocking. I will definitely be looking for a Private health care policy. The Nurses attitudes, patients attitudes poor (not all ) but a shambles. The smell of the ward, the food etc sorry but there needs to be resolution

My heart is crying for those on this topic who have had unspeakable experiences when they or their loved ones have been at their weakest and have been in most need. I was compelled to read every post despite them reminding me of things I really do not want to ever experience again.

My experiences left me so traumatised it was impossible to formulate a complaint to PALS, so the Cancer wards at Derby hospital were let off the hook.

Modern nursing may well now require an academic degree - it's just a shame that human caring, compassion and empathy cannot be taught. Throwing all the money in the world at 'training' will never be able to teach these necessary fundamentals to nursing excellence.

I've heard young nurses, quite proudly boasting that they are in a profession, not a vocation. The term 'angels' I would suggest is no longer applicable, and belongs to the bygone era of a Florence Nightingale or Mary Seacole holistic nursing vocation/vision.

The best 'nurses' to me were the cleaners or the HCAs, who, despite being under extreme pressure, took the time to look me in the eyes and 'see' me: they were the angels. I was pathetically and tearfully grateful for every kind word/action.

Some contributors here have expressed the 'right' to be able to chat to their work colleagues ... I would very respectfully suggest that such chatter, should never be done within the hearing or sight of folk who are very poorly indeed, or in severe pain, and best done elsewhere, ie not around a 'nursing station' and done in break time. If that's not possible, then your issue is with ward management, NOT, with human beings who need your attention - do not dare blame sick people for being upset: try understanding why they may be upset.

I have witnessed, by a significant number of nurses, a 'ward culture' of disrespect, lack of civility, lack of kindness, professional arrogance, not listening, not hearing, 'isms': ageism, racism, disabled-ism, neuro-diversity-ism, mocking, rudeness, lack of hygiene, poor dispensing of meds, ignoring, obs not being done, poor clinical practice and more. To any clinician, I would ask 'when at your weakest and most need, is this the level of care you would want for yourself?'

The Department for Health and Social Care submitted their final budget request for running costs for financial year 2020-21 around December 2020.
Between then and 31 March 2021, they UNDERSPENT by £20,555,846,000, about £5 billion per month.
It's a convenient fiction, often peddled by politicians and journalists to assume that more cash translates magically into better outcomes.

When I was in hospital they had a dining room with a sort of hot buffet you go along to and help yourself to. I think the people in beds just got asked what they wanted, not a lot of ordering in advance. This was 20 years ago though.

I've thought for a while public mass catering (hospitals, prisons, schools etc) should just serve vegetarian food for environmental, cost and health reasons, it also meets most religious requirements. I'm not vegetarian myself btw I imagine some would explode in rage if this happened though.

True- lots of investment of PUBLIC money has gone straight into agency, private suppliers aka partners (!) and inflated managerial salaries for those on the failing trust carousel .
Zero accountability
We all lose out and our healthcare doesn’t seem to matter at all - strange as that’s the reason for hospitals isn’t it ????

My hospital started having major financial cuts in 1998. Under Labour.

Labour also started building hospitals with loans that have such high interest they can never be paid off. The brand new one I moved to was virtually closed within a few years of opening.

It doesn't matter who has been in power, the NHS has faced cuts.

It really doesn't help when some consultants cancel clinics to play golf/see a private patient/fly to Jersey on his plane for a long weekend as he'd forgotten his wife's birthday.

Then there was the nurse who called in sick but was caught by another bank nurse who worked at our hospital sometimes because the bank job was double pay.

Oh, need I mention the kitchen staffer who consistently threw fat into the drains, clogged them up then called external services to clear the mess on weekends. At enormous cost.

Cleaners who aren't trained properly (or are too lazy to) actively spreading germs with their slovenly ways. You'd think the bosses who won that highly-paid contract would check up on the complaints they had. Or at the very least lose the contract next time around.

Special mention to the staff member who worked admin who brought rechargeable batteries in to charge up every shift. That caught on quickly with many others.

The entitlement of many employed and involved in the NHS costs it dear and will be almost impossible to defeat by any government.

Take nursing back to the 60s when you just needed a few O’levels. Why have a fancy degree when the role is purely a caring one. Most are too posh now to empty bedpans.
Bring back matron and discipline. Back in the day there was never any gossiping or such like. Nurses knew their place and weren’t trying to be jumped up doctors. They knew hard work and what was expected.
Stop delegating what were medical tasks to nurses. They don’t need to be taught how to put venflons in or give IV meds when patients need feeding or toileting.
Back to the basics nursing where they know their place.
Invest in doctors, give them their pay rise. The more responsibility nurses get the more they expect to be paid, the less they do. Back to a caring role and it’s a vocation again and not just attracting jobsworths.
Most spend their time chatting and gossiping now. The patient is secondary.
Really we need to privatise the whole NHS institution. We all know how difficult it is to get rid of the bad apples. Turn it into a proper business and they will not be tolerated.

@Mercedesferrari no thanks, I prefer my hcps to be degree educated, the overwhelming evidence was that death rates dropped with degree education.

@BluebellsForest

I'm sorry you've had repeated crap like this. When they knew he was dying (at a different hospital) an absolutely lovely nurse offered to get him a glass of a particular wine that they had discovered they both liked. It was too late in the end. She was fantastic. Afterwards I bought her a bottle of that wine as a thank you

What a really lovely nurse and what a lovely thing for you to do too. It's such a great relief to find a kind person when trying to look after vulnerable elderly relatives

How does a degree make them more educated ? Able to write a sociology degree about inequalities in health but incapable of taking blood pressure properly if the machine malfunctions or doling out meds without a clue about contraindications/side effects.

One of the best posts I've read here.

I'm also ashamed to say that I'd seen most of what you describe during my years in the NHS but was always too afraid to speak out.

I'm sorry you had to go through it and dread it if I have to.

Trouble is nursing has evolved and there's more responsibility within the role than there used to be. A lot of colleagues I've known that have left have done so because the 'core' of nursing just isn't what it was. Caring for patients and spending time with them isn't part of the job in the same way it used to be; so much other stuff to do that there isn't time- it mostly falls to HCSWs (who themselves have an ever increasing cascade of duties). There are more apprentiships now which I suppose are akin to diplomas of yesteryear, I don't think it being a graduate profession is bad but I do think access should be easier, plenty of brilliant would be nurses can't afford to do an address course so can't gain entry but would be more than capable. A big issue for us is we have so many students allocated to us and with staffing as it is we can't give them the same level of training and experience as we had.

Not sure of the solution, things have to change though, far too many stories of poor care.

I've heard young nurses, quite proudly boasting that they are in a profession, not a vocation. The term 'angels' I would suggest is no longer applicable, and belongs to the bygone era of a Florence Nightingale or Mary Seacole holistic nursing vocation/vision.

Well this is true, it is a job and a profession, it being viewed as a vocation had caused a lot of the issues the NHS has today as well. 'Angels' has always been ridiculous and it'll be good if it's no longer used. During the pandemic it was used to emotionally blackmail staff.

Agree.
'Angels' is a stupid term.

@agent765 "I'm sorry you had to go through it and dread it if I have to."

Thank you 💐Your kindness has made me cry. I dread it too, so much so, my family have promised me I won't ever again have to experience those particular wards.

i find googling statistics a bit more helpful with it all x

I had my DD in 2021, I was really anxious given what I'd heard about the state of maternity care. I had a c section and the care was excellent, it was clear the midwives were over worked but nothing was too much trouble, they were all lovely.

I have the same high hopes this time, I'm heading towards my third trimester and everyone so far has been fantastic. Friend had a baby in the summer at the same hospital and she had a great experience.

Not that I'm diminishing anyone else's experience but it's not all bad.

Labour hasn’t been in power since 2010. In 2017 we’d had years of cutbacks.

I'm not confused, I'm not misunderstanding anything so please don't tell me I am. I know exactly what was said, the tone of voice she used and I saw the look on her face. I didn't think she was reporting me, why would I? I presumed the eye rolling was because as far as she was concerned I was creating her extra work.

She was not offering EOL care, that wasn't even mentioned and at that point I hadn't even been told DM was dying, that was the following day from a doctor who was actually compassionate rather than a prize arsehole.

Daughter had major surgery at large NHS London teaching hospital months before Covid hit. Clap for the NHS? 🙄 I don't think so and I didn't. Have started squirrelling money away as was so traumatised by DDs treatment on the children's ward, I can't go through that again. Want the option of private. The nursing staff, on the whole, just didn't care. So many major mistakes. Was told by one ICU liaison nurse to report the ward staff to PALS.

I’ve had two hospital stays; one seven day before and after a traumatic birth and the other two days for D&C. The second was manageable due to a friend’s mum being ward sister, but on both counts the hygiene was below any level of acceptable standard, the conduct of patients and visitors poor and 15 and 10 years later I do dread ever having to stay in again.

Labour hasn’t been in power since 2010. By 2017 the NHS was seriously underfunded, but that is no excuse for errors and lack of accountability. I am sorry for your experience. I hope you complained to PALs.

My DM has just been in hospital for two weeks after having to go through surgery and out of the many staff I saw and my DM encountered there was only 2 who seemed as though they were there for something other than a paycheck . My DM was left in vomit covered nightclothes and her surgical stockings had to be cut off her legs as they had got covered in vomit and urine as they had left my dm to wet herself when she rang her buzzer for help to get out of her bed . My dm is nearly 70 and it's the first time I've seen her cry in a long time

PinkSparklyPussyCat

Littlemouseing claims to ‘have experience in this area’.

Let us hope that if ill, neither we, nor our loved ones, fall into her clutches.

Go straight to CQC with your complaint medication errors are an act of abuse.

I don't think any patient would object to hearing personal conversations between smiling nurses while they were looking after patients on the ward.
I think you know that the complaints are about LOUD conversations around the nursing station, while buzzers are going off and being ignored.
I stayed with DS in a children's ward overnight years ago, and the noise was horrendous all night. Screeching conversations, laughing, ordering take aways.