"Barnsley District General - Hip Replacement"

I was admitted to Barnsley District General Hospital with a spiral fracure of the femur and that followed a hip replacement operation. The surgeons and his team were very professional and caring at all times, in particular Mr Q. Al-Dadah. The post op follow up was excellent but much of the nursing care was well below standard, mainly becuase of the nurse/patient ratio. I spent time on wards 29, 33 and 34 during my stay.

One thing which puzzled me was that young newly qualified nurses were put to menial tasks (at a lower rate of pay) whilst agency staff were brought in at considerable expense and many of these obviously not qualified to do the neccessary work, much of the resident nurses time was spend overseeing the agency nurses which left even less time for the patients. This occured mostly on the night shift.

But the nursing staff performed very well under difficult conditions.