I am an OAP who suffers from arthritis and I was booked for a minor operation to remove an endometrial polyp. Unfortunately the whole environment at the POCU and Sunderland Day Care Centre was most unsuitable for an elderly lady with painful joints. I found I had to wait for 6.5 hours for a minor procedure which took 10-15 minutes and it was impossibly to sit comfortably for any length of time. The cubicles were small and airless and I felt quite sick and faint by the time I went down for my minor operation. Consequently, I reacted rather badly to the anaesthetic. It was clear that the staff were struggling under difficult circumstances in a very poor environment. Obviously, you are at the mercy of whatever happens in the operating theatres that day, but if the accommodation was comfortable, the wait would not have been so awful.
The Sunderland Day Care Centre, from which I was discharged, was rather dirty in the places I saw. Unfortunately, after my operation, I could not help leaving a spill of blood in the lavatory. I cleaned it up as best I could using water and toilet paper. I did inform the nurse and suggest that it ought to be cleaned and disinfected, but was told that it didn't matter. I do most sincerely hope that I have not passed on any infection to the next patient using the lavatory. I would suggest that patents could be advised to bring a large packet of antiseptic wipes with them, so they can clean up themselves.
The accommodation is mixed sexes - this didn't bother me personally, but other patients might not be ok with this.
My final experience was of a nurse informing me that my husband should not be allowed to drive because he is deaf! I have no idea why this person considered themselves a judge of this matter. My husband, who is younger than I am, is the best driver I have ever known, he is a member of the IAM and it was none of their business anyway.
"Being a day care patient for a minor operation"
About: Medway Maritime Hospital / General surgery Medway Maritime Hospital General surgery ME7 5NY
Posted by Deira (as ),
Do you have a similar story to tell?
Tell your story & make a difference ››
Responses
See more responses from Medway Maritime Hospital
Update posted by Deira (the patient) 4 years ago
See more responses from Lyndsay Barrow