
I had a mixed experience at my recent procedure. Staff were very friendly in general. However, I was shocked how inconsistent the experience was from one nurse to another.
My scheduled procedure did not proceed as planned and as I came to around 6 pm on the evening of Monday First of December, I realised I was still attached to a cannula and I’m supposed to stay the night, which was not planned initially. I was told I should contact someone for my first visit to the toilet. As I did, a very irritable nurse came in and questioned me calling for I needing to use the bathroom. I had to explain to her the reason for calling is that it is my first visit to the bathroom. I then had a very painful antibiotic infusion via the cannula on my hand later that evening. The cannula was not stable. It was moving which was very painful and the nurse kept pushing it and kept asking me why I’m anxious. The same nurse came the following morning at 6 am, after I had not slept the whole night, to complete another equally painful infusion, and then proceeded to collapse a vein on my left hand When she attempted to take blood. I asked her to stop. She was not happy. I’m surprised that this is the quality of service received at a private care ward. I had both my hands with limited ability to move by the time I was to have breakfast. I was unable to use a fork and knife and was really getting upset at that stage as I was given jam containers which I was unable to open due to my hands being pin cushions . I felt helpless and burst our crying at that point: your caterer should really consider their clientele, as when a person does not have hands to use a fork and knife and is very weak then struggling to open a container is the last thing they are going to want to do. I had to call someone to open the jam for me when I eventually picked myself together. My main frustration at that point was not knowing why I am there and how long I was going to be kept for.
A different nurse came in later that morning, she removed the cannula from my right hand which then enabled her to take blood from my right hand which as I explained to the other nurse as well is the only hand capable of giving blood. Simple as that, however communicating goals along way when also joined with common sense which I’m afraid to say the evening nurse did not display in spades.
There was no need for all of the pain and uncertainty that I had to endure. I’m not usually a sensitive soul, I have had my fair share of hardship and I do not complain for no reason, however I feel this needs calling out, because it was completely unacceptable and could have easily been avoided.