Julia R

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Don’t understand regarding hospital drug rounds.
Though can only comment from when I was a surgical staff nurse up to 1995.
From what I recall drug boards for patients regular medication would be prescribed 6am, 10am, 12 midday, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 10pm & 12 midnight. Resulting in drug trolley rounds 6-8am, 10am-12, 2pm, 4-6pm and 10-12pm.
Analgesia medications that would be regular medication as previously prescribed by a patients GP, would be given during the trolley rounds. Other than that post operative analgesics would be prescribed by the surgeon/surgical staff via different routes on a continuous basis or as required (PRN) so could be given as required but no frequently than stated. So why on earth you would be left in pain to await a twice daily drug trolley round is both cruel and ridiculous.
Because of the nature of the surgery I was unable to speak as the inside of my mouth was full of stitches and my face was so swollen, so I was also unable to eat, food would be left on my bedside table and taken away untouched an hour later.

I was left attached to an empty IV for a day.

I wasn't given the option of a bath or shower.

My partner at the time left when I got diagnosed and I have no close family so no hospital visitors and no-one to stick up for me.

After I recovered I should have complained but I was so traumatised I just wanted to forget the whole awful experience .

It certainly changed my view of NHS staff though.
 
Because of the nature of the surgery I was unable to speak as the inside of my mouth was full of stitches and my face was so swollen, so I was also unable to eat, food would be left on my bedside table and taken away untouched an hour later.

I was left attached to an empty IV for a day.

I wasn't given the option of a bath or shower.

My partner at the time left when I got diagnosed and I have no close family so no hospital visitors and no-one to stick up for me.

After I recovered I should have complained but I was so traumatised I just wanted to forget the whole awful experience .

It certainly changed my view of NHS staff though.
That's horrendous & I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that without support. My sister stayed in hospital with my brother in law for the last two months of his life to ensure he didn't have to face experiences such as these. I can't find the words to describe your partner's actions 💐
 
I hope the second dose vaccines will be rolled out as well as the first. What’s concerning me at the moment is that some people are being given a date for their second vaccine and others are being told to wait to be called. How well will they coordinate patients receiving the same second vaccine as the first! The vaccination centre I went to sometimes receives the AstraZeneca and at other times the Pfizer. I was given the AstraZeneca, when I get my next appointment who’s to guarantee they will have that and not the Pfizer on that day?
Good questions. The place we went to yesterday is only giving AstraZeneca, however, our neighbour had Pfizer at a smaller hub due to her health issues & was told that mixing the two vaccines isn't harmful & may even give greater protection. I assume those who haven't booked a second one will be given an appointment/told to book one that will slot in with the ones already arranged, we only had an arrival time & it was the same one for about 20 others in the queue. I went online on Sunday evening & it was booking for 64 years only, Monday morning it had been opened up for 60s & today it's stating age 56 - very impressive.
 
When I had my vaccine, the clinic had the Pfizer and the Astra Zeneca. If people did not have allergies they were given the Pfizer, however, if like me someone did have allergies, they were given the Astra Zeneca.
 
Because of the nature of the surgery I was unable to speak as the inside of my mouth was full of stitches and my face was so swollen, so I was also unable to eat, food would be left on my bedside table and taken away untouched an hour later.

I was left attached to an empty IV for a day.

I wasn't given the option of a bath or shower.

My partner at the time left when I got diagnosed and I have no close family so no hospital visitors and no-one to stick up for me.

After I recovered I should have complained but I was so traumatised I just wanted to forget the whole awful experience .

It certainly changed my view of NHS staff though.

Oh. The perfect patient then!

I think people who have left nursing in the last 15 years or so wouldn't recognise how it's changed and not for the better from a patient's perspective.

The staff attitudes have developed from their training (from what I hear these days from friends still working). They now have it drummed into them that they don't need to take crap off stroppy patients and that they have the most important job in the world kind of things. In essence, they're believing their own press.

There are a LOT of caring nurses that will go above and beyond but you only need a few staff in a ward that take the 'it's not my job/I'm more important than you' attitude and the rot sets in. I've been told off for going to fetch some water for an elderly resident who'd been transferred to ward after waiting in A&E for 17 hours. He'd not been given anything to drink in case an op was needed but they decided just to keep him in a few days. He was thirsty and in pain but despite requesting water from staff after arriving in the ward 2 hours earlier, he'd not been given anything. In the 3 hours we were there, all staff disappeared into their break room for tea together TWICE. When I knocked the door (again) to ask for water I was told sharply that they were having an important meeting (with lots of loud laughter - wish I'd had meetings like that!) and they'd see to us when finished. They didn't. Other patients on the ward told us not to bother that it was always like that and they'd all decided to complain.

I've also been on a ward where there is genuine care displayed - but they'll still take their breaks together and patients (even very distressed ones) have to wait. This would NEVER have been allowed when I was working.

I'm so sorry you went through that, Susie. No one should ever be treated like that and you should have complained but I completely understand why you didn't. I'm exhausted trying to speak up for myself but am ignored and considered a nuisance by my surgery. I do believe that it stems from the doctors ignoring my symptoms for over a decade because no one bothered to look back in my notes to see I'd had a diagnosis but was written off as 'hysterical' and 'depressed' by numerous locums before paying to get seen privately.

Have you ever walked through a group of people that go quiet when you walk past? That's how it was going into my surgery after my (second) diagnosis. One nurse asked me how it felt now that I knew I actually had something wrong with me. I told her I felt the same as when I'd had the original diagnosis years ago but at least now I would be treated for it and not dismissed like a petulant child. The way she coloured and went quiet told me all I needed about my case being discussed.

The thing is, we shouldn't have to complain. The NHS, no matter how strapped, is a service for patients, ultimately paid for by patients. But things will never get better if we don't. If anyone has ever had treatment in a private hospital and an NHS hospital, you'll have seen the difference. There shouldn't be one. However, I'm now hearing complaints from people who have been shunted over to a private hospital due to the NHS not being able to cope and the NHS patients have a different service to the paying patients - despite the NHS paying for that private treatment.

When I went into the NHS I wanted to help people. My pay was shite, I knew that before I started and took a massive pay drop from my previous job (I was lucky and settled financially and just wanted a job I loved). The pay these days is much better, despite what the press says. Compared to other jobs (pre-Covid), pay and conditions were much better than many other jobs. The pay increases with your grade and experience so it can be what you want to make of it. Some people scrape by with poor working conditions on minimum wage all their lives. It all boils down to whether a tax-payer is happy to fund a pay increase or not. Those who have had a good experience will undoubtedly say yes, those who haven't won't.

But there should not be this difference to start with. And everyone working within the NHS should stop and think before wasting resources. This starts at the top and should be stopped but won't be because a lot of people will just enjoy the pay and 'perks' of their job without thinking down the chain. The government (and tax-payers) are going to have to suck it up until the worst of this situation is over but after that, the whole of the NHS needs a real shake-up for the sake of the tax-payer and the patients.
 
Oh. The perfect patient then!

I think people who have left nursing in the last 15 years or so wouldn't recognise how it's changed and not for the better from a patient's perspective.

The staff attitudes have developed from their training (from what I hear these days from friends still working). They now have it drummed into them that they don't need to take crap off stroppy patients and that they have the most important job in the world kind of things. In essence, they're believing their own press.

There are a LOT of caring nurses that will go above and beyond but you only need a few staff in a ward that take the 'it's not my job/I'm more important than you' attitude and the rot sets in. I've been told off for going to fetch some water for an elderly resident who'd been transferred to ward after waiting in A&E for 17 hours. He'd not been given anything to drink in case an op was needed but they decided just to keep him in a few days. He was thirsty and in pain but despite requesting water from staff after arriving in the ward 2 hours earlier, he'd not been given anything. In the 3 hours we were there, all staff disappeared into their break room for tea together TWICE. When I knocked the door (again) to ask for water I was told sharply that they were having an important meeting (with lots of loud laughter - wish I'd had meetings like that!) and they'd see to us when finished. They didn't. Other patients on the ward told us not to bother that it was always like that and they'd all decided to complain.

I've also been on a ward where there is genuine care displayed - but they'll still take their breaks together and patients (even very distressed ones) have to wait. This would NEVER have been allowed when I was working.

I'm so sorry you went through that, Susie. No one should ever be treated like that and you should have complained but I completely understand why you didn't. I'm exhausted trying to speak up for myself but am ignored and considered a nuisance by my surgery. I do believe that it stems from the doctors ignoring my symptoms for over a decade because no one bothered to look back in my notes to see I'd had a diagnosis but was written off as 'hysterical' and 'depressed' by numerous locums before paying to get seen privately.

Have you ever walked through a group of people that go quiet when you walk past? That's how it was going into my surgery after my (second) diagnosis. One nurse asked me how it felt now that I knew I actually had something wrong with me. I told her I felt the same as when I'd had the original diagnosis years ago but at least now I would be treated for it and not dismissed like a petulant child. The way she coloured and went quiet told me all I needed about my case being discussed.

The thing is, we shouldn't have to complain. The NHS, no matter how strapped, is a service for patients, ultimately paid for by patients. But things will never get better if we don't. If anyone has ever had treatment in a private hospital and an NHS hospital, you'll have seen the difference. There shouldn't be one. However, I'm now hearing complaints from people who have been shunted over to a private hospital due to the NHS not being able to cope and the NHS patients have a different service to the paying patients - despite the NHS paying for that private treatment.

When I went into the NHS I wanted to help people. My pay was shite, I knew that before I started and took a massive pay drop from my previous job (I was lucky and settled financially and just wanted a job I loved). The pay these days is much better, despite what the press says. Compared to other jobs (pre-Covid), pay and conditions were much better than many other jobs. The pay increases with your grade and experience so it can be what you want to make of it. Some people scrape by with poor working conditions on minimum wage all their lives. It all boils down to whether a tax-payer is happy to fund a pay increase or not. Those who have had a good experience will undoubtedly say yes, those who haven't won't.

But there should not be this difference to start with. And everyone working within the NHS should stop and think before wasting resources. This starts at the top and should be stopped but won't be because a lot of people will just enjoy the pay and 'perks' of their job without thinking down the chain. The government (and tax-payers) are going to have to suck it up until the worst of this situation is over but after that, the whole of the NHS needs a real shake-up for the sake of the tax-payer and the patients.
Bless you xx

Looking back I wish I had complained but it took a year for me to look relatively normal, and it is truly shocking how rude people can be, during the winter I could wear a scarf but a couple of times people who I hardly knew (customers it the shop where I then worked) pulled my scarf down to see what I looked like because they knew what happened.

I didn't have it in me.

Even though it was years ago if I have to visit the hospital for just a hearing test I go on the bus because I'm so freaked out I'm not safe to drive.
 
I hope the second dose vaccines will be rolled out as well as the first. What’s concerning me at the moment is that some people are being given a date for their second vaccine and others are being told to wait to be called. How well will they coordinate patients receiving the same second vaccine as the first! The vaccination centre I went to sometimes receives the AstraZeneca and at other times the Pfizer. I was given the AstraZeneca, when I get my next appointment who’s to guarantee they will have that and not the Pfizer on that day?

If you booked an appt on line, you were then asked to book your second appt at the same time ! so I already have my date for mid April. Those that didn't want to travel a distance and preferred to wait until the GP called, will have to wait to be called again. You pays your money ............
 
Bless you xx

Looking back I wish I had complained but it took a year for me to look relatively normal, and it is truly shocking how rude people can be, during the winter I could wear a scarf but a couple of times people who I hardly knew (customers it the shop where I then worked) pulled my scarf down to see what I looked like because they knew what happened.

I didn't have it in me.

Even though it was years ago if I have to visit the hospital for just a hearing test I go on the bus because I'm so freaked out I'm not safe to drive.

Nothing shocks me about some people's behaviour. Rudeness seems to be a huge epidemic in this country, unfortunately.

I can totally understand your trauma as I was glassed by a family member. Even when you accept what you see in the mirror yourself it's always disappointing and hurtful to see the reaction of others. I understand that something that doesn't look normal triggers an ancient human impulse to avoid in order to protect yourself but I think that acceptance also forms at a young age so seeing 'different' is something I'd love to see being introduced at a young age in school. Not just as a single lesson but seen enough to be changed from 'different' to normal.

We seem to be getting better in some respects with non-traditional models being seen in magazines but the cruelty and abuse on Twitter alone is astounding.

"I didn't have it in me." Now, this is something that I also feel. It's a tiredness that's bone-deep, that you can't recover from. I feel for you. I wish I had a magic wand to help you but I don't. Sometimes it's enough to know someone understands how you feel. I hope this is one of those times.
 
If you booked an appt on line, you were then asked to book your second appt at the same time ! so I already have my date for mid April. Those that didn't want to travel a distance and preferred to wait until the GP called, will have to wait to be called again. You pays your money ............
We received a text message and booked immediately on line. There was no option to book a second appointment. We asked about this at the vaccination centre and they said we would be contacted to book our second appointment by about the 10th week. It would have been simpler and more efficient to have been offered the second appointment at the time we booked the first. We will just have to wait and see. Our vaccine was on 28th January.
 
Nothing shocks me about some people's behaviour. Rudeness seems to be a huge epidemic in this country, unfortunately.

I can totally understand your trauma as I was glassed by a family member. Even when you accept what you see in the mirror yourself it's always disappointing and hurtful to see the reaction of others. I understand that something that doesn't look normal triggers an ancient human impulse to avoid in order to protect yourself but I think that acceptance also forms at a young age so seeing 'different' is something I'd love to see being introduced at a young age in school. Not just as a single lesson but seen enough to be changed from 'different' to normal.

We seem to be getting better in some respects with non-traditional models being seen in magazines but the cruelty and abuse on Twitter alone is astounding.

"I didn't have it in me." Now, this is something that I also feel. It's a tiredness that's bone-deep, that you can't recover from. I feel for you. I wish I had a magic wand to help you but I don't. Sometimes it's enough to know someone understands how you feel. I hope this is one of those times.
Thank you so much for your lovely reply, you are an absolute angel xx

Thankfully with the help of my wonderful dentist and a healthy dose of make up no-one would notice anything unless they got way too close, plus now I'm 64 I find that I care very little what other people think of me which is really good because I used to get very upset when people commented on my voice as apparently I speak differently due to being hearing impaired.

What I suffered was at the hands of strangers to whom I was a number on a chart, to be deliberately injured by a family member must have been devastating, and that is something that is almost impossible to recover from.

I am a lot better now, really the only time it hits me is when I visit the audiology department for my hearing aids, and they are nice in there, it's just screwing myself up to walk through the hospital doors.

Sorry everyone I've had a bit of a moan today, I put it down to being on furlough, but the good news is if you like to shop in The Works, the England stores plan to re-open April 12th, waiting for confirmation on the devolved nations.
 
We received a text message and booked immediately on line. There was no option to book a second appointment. We asked about this at the vaccination centre and they said we would be contacted to book our second appointment by about the 10th week. It would have been simpler and more efficient to have been offered the second appointment at the time we booked the first. We will just have to wait and see. Our vaccine was on 28th January.
Same as us Evie.
 
Thank you so much for your lovely reply, you are an absolute angel xx

Thankfully with the help of my wonderful dentist and a healthy dose of make up no-one would notice anything unless they got way too close, plus now I'm 64 I find that I care very little what other people think of me which is really good because I used to get very upset when people commented on my voice as apparently I speak differently due to being hearing impaired.

What I suffered was at the hands of strangers to whom I was a number on a chart, to be deliberately injured by a family member must have been devastating, and that is something that is almost impossible to recover from.

I am a lot better now, really the only time it hits me is when I visit the audiology department for my hearing aids, and they are nice in there, it's just screwing myself up to walk through the hospital doors.

Sorry everyone I've had a bit of a moan today, I put it down to being on furlough, but the good news is if you like to shop in The Works, the England stores plan to re-open April 12th, waiting for confirmation on the devolved nations.
You've nothing to apologise for & we all stand together on here, like in the Frog Chorus 🐸
 
"I didn't have it in me." Now, this is something that I also feel. It's a tiredness that's bone-deep

I totally identify with that. I've been in hospital in the past and every time I personally have been treated by nurses and orderlies with nothing but kindness and care. However, I have seen other patients on my ward treated appallingly. When you're at your lowest you really don't need people to be mean but I've witnessed it.

CC
 
When I booked on line I was able to book my second, and as the vaccination center is about 5 minutes from where I work I booked a time so I can get it done in my lunch break.

Do you think they'll mind if I sit there munching on a bowl of salad?
A tad difficult when wearing a mask! The only time we sat down was when having the injection - obviously all venues are different but I think they're trying to keep the number of surfaces that can be touched to a minimum. We arrived about 20 minutes before our booked arrival, not appointment, time, were told to park & wait 10 minutes before joining the queue & then got 'processed' by three people before we got to the the vaccine pod. The whole procedure took an hour & a quarter, if it had been just one of us it may have taken 10 minutes less.
 
Nothing shocks me about some people's behaviour. Rudeness seems to be a huge epidemic in this country, unfortunately.

I can totally understand your trauma as I was glassed by a family member. Even when you accept what you see in the mirror yourself it's always disappointing and hurtful to see the reaction of others. I understand that something that doesn't look normal triggers an ancient human impulse to avoid in order to protect yourself but I think that acceptance also forms at a young age so seeing 'different' is something I'd love to see being introduced at a young age in school. Not just as a single lesson but seen enough to be changed from 'different' to normal.

We seem to be getting better in some respects with non-traditional models being seen in magazines but the cruelty and abuse on Twitter alone is astounding.

"I didn't have it in me." Now, this is something that I also feel. It's a tiredness that's bone-deep, that you can't recover from. I feel for you. I wish I had a magic wand to help you but I don't. Sometimes it's enough to know someone understands how you feel. I hope this is one of those times.
My first career was in the Employment Service working in an Unemployment Benefit Office in the heart of the industrial West Midlands. One of the new members of staff I was given to train had Apert syndrome, the public were hateful & the staff were even worse. Office friendships I valued got reassessed & I spent many nights sobbing over this girl's situation. My boss agreed that placing her in a role that was totally customer focussed & in a tough area hadn't been a good idea & we did a softly softly approach to her about a move to Regional Office, before this could happen I had one last thing to supervise - paying out the giros to those who were no fixed abode. A hot Friday afternoon, they'd all been drinking in the park & I wanted them out of the office as quickly as possible, They went silent when we walked in & then one shouted: "Who gid ya da monkey?", I knew I was going to cry & she just grabbed my hand & said that I wasn't to get upset because she was used to it & we just had to get on with the job. Years later I read R J Palacio's book 'Wonder' with year 7, they were amazing while doing the work in lessons but didn't have the maturity to put it into practise. There are some people I like but generally my opinion is that humans are the most cruel & destructive creatures on the planet.
 
Back in 2005 my first husband was dying with terminal cancer. He knew it was going to kill him but was asked if he`d consider going onto a drugs trial. The consultant told him it wouldn`t save his life and the best he could hope for would be buying him a bit of extra time but that the results of the drug trial would possibly help them develop better treatment for future patients.
My husband had little to gain from the trial but always said if he could help stop future sufferers then it would be worth it and of course he wanted to grasp the small hope that it would give him a few extra months with his wife and children. He was admitted to hospital for intravenous treatment and the drugs made him very ill.
I turned up every day and his sheets would be wet with sweat from the high temperature the drugs caused, nobody would have bothered to wash him or shave him or even make him comfortable. He would be surrounded with used urine bottles nobody bothered to shift and not one person had tried to get any kind of food or water into him. He was literally just left in his bed and forgotten about unless it was to plug him into another drip bag.
I hit the roof and contacted the person in charge of the drug trial (after umpteen attempts to get hold of them I hasten to add) and told them that a man was going through hell to help future cancer sufferers and yet he was being treated like **** and as if the only things which mattered were the numbers entered on his charts and that his lack of care was disgusting. I ranted for ages on that phone until my anger was spent but my heart was breaking for my husband.
The day after I walked onto the ward and found the actual ward sister/manager or whatever they called her, caring for my husband herself and she couldn`t look me in the eye. The day after that I brought him home and the next part of the drug treatment continued by injections given by the district nurses who were ****** wonderful. They came every day even when the drug trial ended and when we were told by the Consultant it hadn`t had any positive effect on his cancer and it was just a matter of time. One of those nurses was with me just a few weeks later when he died at home with me holding his hand and telling him I loved him. Whether he could hear I guess I`ll never know. He`d had a syringe driver fitted and was out of it but it at least kept him pain free.
Once the Gp had certified his death she asked me would I like to wash him, change his pj`s and make him look peaceful in his bed so other family members could spend a short time with him before the funeral directors were called. We did it together, the final caring thing I could do for him and she talked me through it step by step, she removed his syringe driver and his canula, we closed his eyes and his mouth, we washed him, shaved him, changed his clothes, combed his hair, placed his hands together and she treated him with such care and respect and stayed long after her shift should have ended.
Each one of those district nurses fought to give him the best care they could and I couldn`t have asked for more but as for the hospital, well I can never forgive them for dehumanising my husband the way they did. Yes it was a busy hospital , yes it specialised in cancer treatments but I could never call it cancer "care", not in my husband`s case.
 
Back in 2005 my first husband was dying with terminal cancer. He knew it was going to kill him but was asked if he`d consider going onto a drugs trial. The consultant told him it wouldn`t save his life and the best he could hope for would be buying him a bit of extra time but that the results of the drug trial would possibly help them develop better treatment for future patients.
My husband had little to gain from the trial but always said if he could help stop future sufferers then it would be worth it and of course he wanted to grasp the small hope that it would give him a few extra months with his wife and children. He was admitted to hospital for intravenous treatment and the drugs made him very ill.
I turned up every day and his sheets would be wet with sweat from the high temperature the drugs caused, nobody would have bothered to wash him or shave him or even make him comfortable. He would be surrounded with used urine bottles nobody bothered to shift and not one person had tried to get any kind of food or water into him. He was literally just left in his bed and forgotten about unless it was to plug him into another drip bag.
I hit the roof and contacted the person in charge of the drug trial (after umpteen attempts to get hold of them I hasten to add) and told them that a man was going through hell to help future cancer sufferers and yet he was being treated like **** and as if the only things which mattered were the numbers entered on his charts and that his lack of care was disgusting. I ranted for ages on that phone until my anger was spent but my heart was breaking for my husband.
The day after I walked onto the ward and found the actual ward sister/manager or whatever they called her, caring for my husband herself and she couldn`t look me in the eye. The day after that I brought him home and the next part of the drug treatment continued by injections given by the district nurses who were ****** wonderful. They came every day even when the drug trial ended and when we were told by the Consultant it hadn`t had any positive effect on his cancer and it was just a matter of time. One of those nurses was with me just a few weeks later when he died at home with me holding his hand and telling him I loved him. Whether he could hear I guess I`ll never know. He`d had a syringe driver fitted and was out of it but it at least kept him pain free.
Once the Gp had certified his death she asked me would I like to wash him, change his pj`s and make him look peaceful in his bed so other family members could spend a short time with him before the funeral directors were called. We did it together, the final caring thing I could do for him and she talked me through it step by step, she removed his syringe driver and his canula, we closed his eyes and his mouth, we washed him, shaved him, changed his clothes, combed his hair, placed his hands together and she treated him with such care and respect and stayed long after her shift should have ended.
Each one of those district nurses fought to give him the best care they could and I couldn`t have asked for more but as for the hospital, well I can never forgive them for dehumanising my husband the way they did. Yes it was a busy hospital , yes it specialised in cancer treatments but I could never call it cancer "care", not in my husband`s case.
Vienna, I am horrified but sadly not shocked by what happened when he was in hospital. What a contrast to the nurse who stayed with you at the worst time in your life & supported you as you said goodbye; her actions showed her quality, not just as a professional, but as a person. Bless her.
 
You are not always completely cared for in hospital. Vienna I am sorry for what happened. When I was very ill I was very lucky to have one nurse that I am sure would have stayed to the end. I was lucky, I got better and was able to leave.
 

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