Just had a unique experience due to Novovirus closing chest wards, stayed on a ward that was crashed open hence at first there was only beds! No tables, lockers, water jugs or more worringly enough nebulisers. I was ok because i have my nebs via O2 but 1 nebuliser for 18 patients is a bit scary. The chest wards were closed due to Novovirus so a closed ward was reopened, it was on the top floor of an old building outside the main part of the hospital. The lift kept jamming so the porters had to carry the O2 cylinders up 4 flights of stairs!
The Nurses did brilliantly in a very difficult situation but they kept running out of basics like Salbutamol nebs and Atrovent nebs and not understanding the importance of having 4 hourly nebs. Aargh! got my Prednisolone at 11.30pm instead of first thing in the morning and one of the old ladies kept trying to pull my oxygen mask off (she thought i was a German!) Another lady thought we were all intruders in her bedroom and shouted constantly when awake, oh joy. Was so glad to get home.
Good old NHS, and people still turned up in A&E with d and v!