Share review of Basildon Hospital

Basildon Hospital 2023-02-05 Person 4 5 0

I had an abdominal hysterectomy. The day unit were kind and empathetic. They were organised and systematic in their approach to getting me ready for surgery. The consultant however tried his best to talk me out of the procedure , as I had not been seen since going in the waiting list 19 months before. He said I should have been examined to determine how they were to perform the operation, but I had not consultation prior to coming in ( error of the gynae unit). I had the operation and went down scared after the consultant told me I was high risk. The nurses consoled me and the theatre staff were lovely. I had to stay in recovery for hours until a bed was available (bed shortage in hospital). but the staff took good care of me. I was admitted to Laindon ward in a bay full of old people. A lot of them had dementia which was worse at night. I was kept awake for two nights with them constantly calling out and I had to press my buzzer twice to call a nurse for the other clients as they never came when called and they needed commodes. The delay led to them soiling the bed or passing urine into cups as one was scared to go to the toilet alone due to her dementia. This led to me getting no sleep or recuperating. My pain was well controlled. On day 2, a nurse came to take my catheter out. She just went to pull it and I said that she needs to withdraw the water in the balloon. She rushed off to get another nurse to do it, but if I had not been a nurse myself and told her, she would have caused me a lot of damage and pain (major near miss, requiring more training for new staff) I found out she was newly qualified and it was her first day on this ward! I was discharged on day 3 with lots of pain relief and other medication. Overall I was impressed with the care I received and everyone was kind and caring, but lessons can be learned to prevent incidences and make it better . Also, the lady next to me was obviously shutting down and nearing end of life. The doctors could not get blood from her , her heart rate was 120 and the HCA could not get her BP to record. Yet, it took two days for them to realise she was end of life and I was sitting behind a curtain Listening to this ladies breathing deteriorating, and she was becoming more confused, constantly asking to be re-positioned to breath easier, but nothing helped her . I was concerned about the missed opportunities to diagnose her deterioration and this led to false hope for her family. As I left hospital, she was transferred to a side room and her family were asked to meet with the doctor. But , I feel she was ignored when she was deteriorating, especially by the night staff. And the day staff did not appear to acknowledge the relevance of her declining observations, until it was too late.