Share review of Wrexham Maelor Hospital

Wrexham Maelor Hospital 2017-02-04 Person 4 5 0

1. The ward welcome pack wasn't left in my room until the fourth week of the stay. 2. The activities nurse Carol has infectious enthusiasm and really helps lift spirits. Activities should receive more attention. Getting people moving or keeping them distracted eases anxiety and other feelings. 3. The staff are generally very professional despite being ran ragged some days! Llinos, the ward manager is extremely good. 4. In general the unit is not relaxing at all. The doors slam(particularly the main door from Cafe Kim). They need adjusting. Throughout the night the banging wakes you up. There needs to be some sound barriers erected on the ward to stop sound travelling. When staff are talking at the nurse station the television cannot be heard. The smaller tv room is also very bare and not inviting at all. The phones! The ringers are set SO loud that they wake you up at night. This has then become a separate and new source of anxiety for me(and other patients). The nurse station is never left unattended so they don't need to be set so loud. There need to be some proper comfy chairs on the ward. There is no incentive to socialise, hence why so many patients retreat to their rooms. 5. Staff should either wear name badges or there should be a wall with pictures of staff and names appended. When you are new to the ward and anxious it is difficult to raise the attention of a member of staff if you don't know who they are. Being able to use somebody's name is an easy way to open lines of communication and communication is vital for psychiatrically ill patients. 6. There should be more publicity regarding the therapies available. I have seen therapists on the ward but don't know what I can ask for. They seem to glide through the ward and straight out of the door. The welcome pack should list therapies available so patients can try and fill their days and improve their wellbeing. 7. The food! Where do I start?! I know that the staff realise it is awful. The menu is repetitive. The main courses are almost invariably a stew or pasta dish cooked to a runny gloop. How many times a week can cauliflower cheese be foisted on patients? The vegetables are so over cooked they can only be eaten with a spoon and the salads are so tasteless and unappealing that healthy eating seems to be discouraged by BCUHB. In fairness the beef curry is passable. Food is one of life's pleasures and pleasure is something many patients have lost. Eating Maelor food creates no pleasure. I have never heard a patient finish a meal and state anything positive. 8. Interaction with Dyfdwy ward and Clywedog should be actively encouraged. Some shifts will keep the corridor door locked as long as possible through the day and will close it as early as possible. A "them and us" mindset definitely exists. 9. The outside areas are also in dire need of work. Patients should be encouraged to look beyond the four walls - bird feeders, seating areas, plants. Patients need distractions sometimes and this can take the form of animals and nature. 10. There should be a clear policy on medication times. One shift in particular will try and push nighttime medication as early as 9pm even when a patient wants it later. This is particularly important viz sleeping medication. The same shift will also close down the communal area and linger close by so that patients go to bed. One patient was refused access to the tv remote at 1030 one night. Sometimes patients WANT and NEED to stay where they can be monitored and/or socialise with others to take their mind off what may be running around in their heads. Most of the shifts are flexible, in fairness, although there is a general tendency towards getting everyone to their beds asap on nights. If a ward policy stated that the tv should be off at a certain time then patients would be more accepting, I think..... Although the above appears negative it is not. I would like to think that these small changes will help subsequent patients speed up their recovery and prevent recurrence of their particular malaise.