"Amazing surgical team, but the ward was a different story."

I was admitted on a Tuesday evening with suspected appendicitis. After 9 hours in ED, I was given a bed in the corridor on the surgical ward. The bed was at the very back of a long ward. I felt very isolated as my bed was completely closed in by screens meaning I could see nobody and nobody could see me, I had no buzzer to call for help and much of the time I was on a drip, which was wedged tight between my bed and the wall, meaning I couldn't get out of bed to look for a member of staff if I needed help. I was checked on only when my observations needed done, and as the week went on, this was less and less often and one night, not at all.

The ward had ensuite rooms and there were no toilets/showers outside the rooms, meaning that those in a corridor bed, like me, had no access to toilets or showers. I was told I would have to use the public toilet outside the ward, which was quite a long walk when I was in a lot of pain. The sink was tiny (barely big enough for washing your hands) and it had no plug, so there was no satisfactory way to have a wash.

By my third day on the ward I felt horrible. My hair badly needed washed and I was very sweaty and self-conscious after 3 days in a warm environment with no way of washing. I asked a nurse first thing that morning if it was possible for me to have a shower somewhere. Despite there being signs all over the ward (including on the screen surrounding my bed!) which said patients would need to share their bathrooms, they said no, not unless someone was discharged that afternoon and I could nip in to use their bathroom before the next patient moved in, but they would keep it in mind.  I began to cry after they left, adding to my embarrassment.

A kind healthcare assistant noticed and asked the lady in the nearest room if I could use her shower. She was happy to share.

The staff that cared for me on the day of my surgery  were truly excellent and really put me at ease. Back on the ward, my bed needed changed because my wound had opened and there was blood on the sheets. I told a member of staff who said they would change bed, but they never returned.

Later a friend who was visiting noticed the blood and went and asked a nurse for clean sheets and changed it herself. Unknown to them, my friend is in fact a nurse in another part of the trust, but she didn't tell them that and they didn't ask, just handed over the sheets without question or comment.

The day after my surgery my wound opened again and a nurse left me standing in my underwear, dripping blood on the floor, in full view of passersby while she took 10 minutes to return with fresh dressings. I hadn't been shown where the button for the blinds on the windows looking onto the corridor was and I couldn't find it, so couldn't close them. It was very humiliating. I also had to ask for paracetamol 3 or 4 times the day after surgery before receiving any pain relief (it was 5 hours from I first asked until I finally got some).

When I was discharged, I was given no information or advice, which I found unnerving as I had never had surgery before. I asked the nurse who told me I could go if there was any advice and she thought for a moment, then advised me not to lift anything heavy.

I had to search on the internet how to care for my wound and how long recovery from surgery would take. I was also sent home with a box of painkillers from the ward supply (I think they were codeine) which my nurse friend told me not to take as it was a very high dose and you should apparently start on a much lower dose and build up to that strength if necessary. Neither of these things filled me with confidence. 

I understand that the health service is under a great deal of pressure, but I felt invisible during my time in hospital. I rarely saw the same member of staff twice, in fact I rarely saw a member of staff at all. I was largely left to fend for myself. There was no continuity of care and I felt I had no dignity as a patient for the reasons outlined above.

The surgical team were amazing, but on the ward, it was a different story. I was thankful to get home again.