Two weeks ago I had a successful shoulder replacement op. When I was taken to ward from recovery, a nurse stressed that I should not hesitate to use the call-button if I needed anything at all. This was particularly important, she said, as I was alone in a side ward and it was difficult for them to spot any signs of distress. During the night I was woken every 90 minutes for BP checks, etc so I did not needto use the call button. The next morning I was helped to the bathroom and on return the person helping me, let me go as I sat on the bed. I fell backwards and caught my head lightly on the bedside rail, but I was fine. However, as I rocked backwards, I jarred my arm. I didn't realise at the time how much pain would follow and said I was ok. She gave me my breakfast and left. Within minutes the pain increased until I found myself overwhelmed. I pressed the call button but no one came for a long time. I called to the person cleaning outside my room but she didn't respond. Eventually a very harassed ward sister came and asked "what on earth is the matter?" When I said I needed pain relief and I was distressed when no one came, she snapped, "you're not the only patient you know. We are very busy!"I was given pain relief pretty quickly and then a pain management person came to speak with me. The morphine and paracetamol was increased and this helped. I stayed for 3 days and treatment was fine. I have had a few problems since discharge and had to go to A&E last Monday as I had an allergic reaction to the morphine. My question is, should I mention any of this when I meet with the surgeon at my post op assessment on 1st May, or to anyone
at all? I know how understaffed hospitals are and don't want to add to anyone's stress levels. My inclination is to say nothing but I also feel that if nursing staff are going to tell patients to use the call button as much as necessary, but then admonish them for doing so, there needs to be clearer guidelines.
Sorry it's long. I think I just needed to get it off my chest.
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IlovePorridge
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Of course you need to get this off your chest, you didn’t receive proper treatment when you were feeling vulnerable and in pain. I don’t expect a complaint to the surgeon would get anywhere much. There might be somewhere to leave a review. I have been equally stuck when wanting to give good feedback. It is all so random and inconsistent which adds to the feelings of helplessness. You are right of course and I hope you feel better after venting here. You must remember your morphine allergy in the future. It is just the kind of thing I forget. Wishing you well.
I feel that you should mention the actual incident at your post op’ not least incase it has somewhat impeded your recovery (I do hope not). The person helping you back to bed really should have made sure you were balanced before they let go of you regardless of how busy they were. It must have been stressful waiting for someone to come to assist you and I’m sure it is stressful for staff too when buzzers are going off around them. Better training and more staff may have prevented this but…….🫤
What a challenging time for you and I'm so sorry your recovery was hindered by the tumble on the bed.
You are of course right when you said that medical staff are currently under a lot of pressure. They're frequently working under extreme circumstances where wards & departments are under-staffed, senior team members aren't always available to advise, prescribe or confirm diagnosis when required and time just doesn't seem to be on their side. It's a high pressure environment that must be incredibly challenging to manage.
That being said, I have been a nurse myself, and I found the manner of communication you received, completely unprofessional & completely unacceptable.
However harassed that ward sister felt, she still has a duty of care to all her patients and could (& should) have been more professional in how she communicated with you.
You'd specifically been told to use the call button if you needed anything at all because you were situated in a less visible location and I would have probably felt inclined to politely inform said sister of this advice had I been in your shoes.
I personally feel that in this instance I would probably feel inclined to file a complaint, because although we all understand the extreme pressure staff are working under, that is never a reasonable justification for rudeness, unkindness or unprofessional behaviour.
Her frustration was probably understandable, but her manner towards you, her attitude and her delivery when communicating were most definitely not, and if I'd ever responded to a patient like that, I would have most certainly been disciplined!
It seems that overall you received good care, but the ward sisters' response to your call for assistance was both unacceptable and unprofessional and if you feel it may serve some constructive purpose to do so (ie: it will prevent other patients from potentially experiencing the same) then I would file a complaint.
Only you can decide what level you may want to take it to though.
When I was working on a surgical ward ages ago we were run ragged most of the time, but there was no reason to snap at patients. It is not their fault. Occasionally there was the odd patient who would try the patience of a saint. If you are told to call any time what does that mean? If there is a restriction on buzzer use then they need to tell you what the criteria are. Surely pain is an important reason. I would say to the surgeon that you had a fall and your pain relief was inadequate and that you were not able to access it until in quite some distress. If they are interested they will ask more, if not you might want to complain to patient liaison. At the very least they need to communicate to patients where they stand.
Oh my goodness that's disgusting I would be making a complaint it doesn't matter how busy or short staffed they are there is absolutely no excuse for that
I am so sorry this happened to you. You are not alone in this experience as it occurs everywhere. It is a scary situation. Personally, I would get in touch with the head nurse, patient relations or even the head of the hospital to report what happened. The same holds true if you feel an employee has been doing an excellent job. I get hallucinations from Morphine. I hope things progress smoothly from now on. 🙏🏻
Hospitals are so understaffed but this does not justify rudeness to a patient. I think I would complain to PALS as this could happen to people less able to speak up than you.
I think it might be worth mentioning. I wish I had spoken up about an hospital experience I had not that long ago. There seemed to be so many different faces on shift all the time and it really did start to seem like some nurses were being rude to all of the patients. I had very limited mobility and had to use a commode in there but one day I waited over an hour for one. Some days I only received pain relief twice a day because I couldn't get anyone to bring me some despite asking several times. I did mention the pain relief twice to my doctor and he was shocked and did have a word but I also saw terrible treatment of other patients. I know as everyone said they are understaffed but there were others who were so lovely to everyone and were just as, if not more busy. That comment that she made to you, reading it reminded me of the attitude I was seeing. I hope you are feeling better now.
It seemed to be mostly the nurses. There were some really nice ones there but some just seemed to enjoy being rude to everyone. I once asked if I could have tablets and the nurse just put his hand up to shush me and said I'll get to you in a bit. But I saw worse with some that were older than me. Being left to buzz for sometimes an hour was a regular occurrence. I wanted to go home so I could get my painkillers on time and take them when I needed them.
I've never seen that at any other hospital I was shocked. They must be aware of a problem because I heard patients were requesting to be moved to the other hospital in the same area.
Official complaint from patients to the CEO is a good approach. But if it is a management problem - nastiness at the top trickles down. Unlike trickle-down economics but that is another matter!
I was being helped by a care assistant when I fell backwards and jarred my arm. It was the ward sister who snapped about me not being the only patient. That aside, before and after this, I found her to be very efficient. I had my post op assessment this afternoon. It all went well and I decided not to mention the incident. It would not have been appropriate or helpful.
Fair enough, I appreciate that. However - it would be interesting to know if the CA documented that on your notes. It should have been. And the sister won't have been agency - so that part of the discussion won't apply.
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