Share review of The Tunbridge Wells Hospital

The Tunbridge Wells Hospital 2014-02-01 Person 5 5 0

I had to go into hospital for an operation at the end of January 2014, and although I think the hospital is very well run & help is always close by (in way of volunteers as well as staff), and I absolutely loved the privacy of having my own room in the Wells Suite, found the staff to be very friendly & attentive, I do have a few negative comments to make: I didn't like the fact that patients waiting to be admitted were told to get there first thing, then made to sit waiting for hours in a waiting room having starved for up to (& over with some) 12 hours. There was no consideration made for the fact that I am pre-diabetic & am supposed to eat small regular meals throughout the day. (The walk to the operating theatre is very long for someone with mobility problems, and a wheelchair is not on offer). I asked if I should have been given a laxative to help empty my bowels prior to my admittance & was told, "we don't bother with that anymore!", despite my explaining that I was concerned that I was not empty. This proved to be a HUGE problem after my surgery & subsequent discharge from hospital just 24 hours later. I was not given any laxatives on my discharge, despite telling the doctor that I felt there was 'something there'. Less than 48 hours after discharge I was rushed to hospital as I hadn't urinated for 12 hours & had to have a catheter reinserted (for a week). I was told this was due to the swelling of surgery & repeated requests to 'check my bottom' as I was sure I was suffering a blockage, were ignored or dismissed. However, I was sent home with 4 types of laxatives. 6 days after surgery & 4 after my A&E trip I still had not opened my bowels. Desperate attempts to contact my consultant failed as phone lines had not been changed during his move between hospitals. Calls to 111 were next to useless, and my GP did his best to advise & help with a further prescription. The result being that the blockage was finally passed that evening, resulting in a (almost) full-blown hemorrhage, loss of stitches & one very traumatised daughter; who had to clean up all the blood. My first week after surgery was horrific because one simple little old-fashioned procedure (laxatives/enema before surgery) was not carried out! I spent 6 days in complete and utter pain and discomfort, unable to stand, sit or lay comfortably. There was no pain nor discomfort from the actual surgery, and I believe it was the pressure of the bowel blockage that caused my bladder to stop emptying normally. Having a catheter reinserted for a further week left me with the added pain of a urine infection, which no-one gave me antibiotics for until 2 days ago (two weeks later)! So all in all, my experience of my stay in Pembury was blighted by the fact that old procedures are now ignored and patients post-op care comes secondary to making sure beds are available for the next patients to be admitted. Sad really as it really is a lovely hospital & the personal en suite rooms are excellent.