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

I've currently got a complaint ongoing with my local hospital, over the way DH (who died in there), was treated.

I found out who the "head guy" was, and sent a post/stamp letter detailing everything, copying in PALS.

They phoned me last week, to say they had launched an enquiry.

None of my complaint could be excused by funding/shortages etc - it was simply about attitude and caring.🙁

I’ve had good and bad experiences in both. In NHS, the aftercare by nurses was not good once, but in a private hospital, they clinical expertise was not so good. No where near, and that is what matters most.

But my experience is not yours. Do complain everyone, but also know that NHS staff mostly haven’t stopped since the pandemic, are exhausted, and demoralised. The claps on the doorstep aren’t paying their bills. The public, post pandemic, are ruder and more demanding. The staff need better pay and conditions, but cannot secure what is needed. Due to Brexit, immigration rules, having to pay to do a nursing degree, there are thousands of open positions and they are under staffed.

i will Definitely need to share my experience in form of a complaint. I feel like I need counselling or something because I can’t get over what happened. I say please try and eat well lead as healthy lifestyle as possible to prevent Having to go to hospital; of course if you need to go you need to go. And I wasn’t expecting brilliant food but at least of a reasonable standard! I should not have had to be bedded next to someone who smelled of faeces. How on earth was I able to recover. I couldn’t eat because of the smell. Requested a side room but non available.

I can empathise. I hate saying this, but it's often the things which aren't related to money/funding that I've had problems with in hospitals.

Yes, nurses loudly talking and laughing around the Nurses' Station - not professional at any time, but unbelievable at night. I've seen this go on while patients in pain or distress are ignored.

Just a reluctance to be kind - a smile, a reassuring word when people are scared or in pain - doesn't cost anything. I've had nurses bark at me, not make eye contact and then leave me in an uncomfortable position for 45 mins while doing a dressing (disappeared without any explanation). No apology or explanation when they returned.

I've also witnessed horrible sarcasm to old people when they thought no-one was around (it was my poor old mum, and I was actually just behind a curtain at the time). She was a gentle, undemanding person and had just asked a simple question - got a vile answer.

And lots more. I get the NHS is in a mess, but funding is only one of its problems. There seems to be a pervasive culture with some staff of unprofessional behaviour.

My visits to amazing hospitals like GOSH or the Royal Marsden were where I encoutered excellent professional standards - so why can't all hospitals be like this?

Report to PALS so that it is on record

Not getting a side room though I’m not surprised by as these are usually reserved for special cases

I spent 8 nights in Airedale General Hospital in July this year. All the staff were absolutely brilliant.

Yep. I remember once being on hospitals and the nurses talked loudly all night, bitching about their colleagues.

There was a faulty bed that beeped all night and no effort to fix it.

I was tired and disorientated and worried about my young child, it was the first time I had spent a night away from him.

The doctors wanted to keep me on, but I imsisted on going home the following day.

The NHS are under pressure, but the issues I experienced was just due to a lack of care.

Mostly lovely staff at my local hospital, but there are a contingent of male doctors who fob females off with anxiety. I had this recently, even though I had campylobacter and was dehydrated.

My friends husband recently had major cardiac surgery in a private bupa after being referred from nhs consultant. He was discharged home and bluelighted back to nhs A&E within the hour of being home, remained in for 2-3weeks very unwell. Nhs horrified he was discharged, BUPA wanted nothing to do with him when they called for info. Private isn’t the easy answer

Nothing like my experience ... Ambulance arrived within 30 mins, no wait at the hospital, CT scans, ECGs, and bloods all done. The longest wait was for a bed which I did get within a few hours.

@CoffeeCantata why do we hate saying this though? Because we have been conditioned not to criticise the nhs and blame all its woes on the tories?

In the last year I’ve lost my dad, a grandparent and my dog. The only one of those to have been treated with an ounce of care and compassion was the dog. My mum is so traumatised by how her husband and mum died she has stashed a pile of pills and a bottle of whiskey in her cupboard so she doesn’t have to suffer the same way.

I get you OP, and everyone else on the thread that said they have been traumatised.

I have PTSD from my first birth experience (EMCS) due to the horrendous hospital care, and I’m now under specialist care for my second pregnancy as I’m so terrified about going back in.

I had poor care and rudeness in a private hospital.

Yes you should complain if the attitude of staff was inappropriate, sadly as healthcare professionals are human some are horrible people, they shouldn't be in these roles if they treat people badly when they're poorly and arguably at their most vulnerable though. I'm not surprised you didn't get a side room though. If the patient smelt of poo as they weren't receiving the personal care from staff that they needed that's one thing, but if they refused certain things they can't be forced and its unfortunate.

I've worked in both NHS and private hospitals and have to say I also find the assumption that care is exemplary and staff are never rude quite odd. Sure the company has more of a vested interest in maintaining high standards and challenging poor staff behaviour as they might lose business otherwise; but I certainly saw some outrageous things. Patient facilities were universally better though, but that's to be expected when the buildings are invested in and not left to crumble. Sadly the government are complicit in the erosion of patient care, sure attitudes are the responsibility of the individual, but when you're working far under safe staffing levels you're more likely to get poor care and rudeness from exhausted and burnt out staff.

Definitely PALS complaint when you feel
up to it.

I’ve got PTSD from a 40-hour stay in A&E last year. Local hospital, and will avoid going back at all costs. Not ideal as I have stage IV cancer & there have been times when everyone has been very keen for me to go back to A&E. I’ve also got the Swiss solution up my sleeve.

I’m being treated at the Royal Marsden now but they don’t have an A&E department. Haven’t stayed in yet but I pray to god it would be better.

I think I made 3 separate complaints about my care & they were investigated & they said some things were put in place to ensure they didn’t happen to other patients, but I don’t believe them really. Failing hospital, failing hospital trust & in one of the poorest areas of the country.

This sounds awful. Must depend on the hospital. My son had an operation this year and I thought everything was excellent.

Reading this thread makes me so angry. Nurses should not be treating patients this way.

If you know the names of specific nurses, you can report them to the NMC.

And I hope some of the nurses on Mumsnet are cr**ping themselves right now reading this because they know they are guilty.

I had a 4 day stay in hospital, was beyond awful, I discharged myself on the end. The elderly lady in the bed next to me was left unfed as she couldn't lift the spoon, the cleaner actually helped her eat, and one night when she called out for help was ignored for over half a hour, the nurse actually screamed in her face and told her to shut the f up and stop disturbing the nurses, the cups were filthy and the showers were covered in blood smears, poo smears ect. I reported everything as did another lady on the ward. I also had all my babies at the same hospital one was a 4 night stay and was the exact opposite, clean ward, caring staff, nothing was too much trouble for them

And I hope some of the nurses on Mumsnet are crping themselves right now reading this because they know they are guilty.

What?

Totally agree with this and I'm a nurse.
The whole system is corrupt.
Management is non existent, it's completely toxic and a box ticking " everything is fine lalala" exercise.
Anyone who stands up to them is destroyed.

Blame and threats really help to support a compassionate culture.

Dh just been in as a day case; it is a good thing it was nothing major as the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing. Different updates from different people, given incorrect info and this was senior staff. Finally as he was leaving the unit 'manager' had to interrupt a member of staff to make sure we were given the correct info. Frightening if you consider all that can go wrong if the patient can't advocate for themselves and then even if they can does anyone listen.

There was a girl who used to go to the same gym as me, gave off ‘cool girl’ vibes. Attitude towards other gym users was unpleasant and sneery if we were in teams and others weren’t working to her satisfaction. Very much thought she was above everyone else. When I found out she was a nurse, I vowed there and then that I would crawl out of any hospital she worked at on my hands and knees before letting someone like that anywhere near me.

She won’t be the only one.