In November 2013 my wife had a knee replacement. I have nothing but praise for the service and care she was given by all in Derifford Hospital especially ALL the staff in Stannon ward and the physiotherapy department. This includes the service given before admission.
My only complaint is with the porter when my wife was discharged on a Saturday. The porter arrived on the ward with a wheelchair to get my wife to the main entrance of the hospital. I went ahead of them to get the car from the car park to the main entrance. When I arrived at the main entrance ( only a few minutes ) I found my wife standing in the entrance with a lot of effort and discomfort.
When I asked my wife where the porter and wheelchair was, she said that the porter said they needed the wheelchair and my wife had to get out of the wheelchair and wait standing. I cannot believe that at about 18:00 hrs on a Saturday evening there could have been that much of a demand for a porter and wheelchair although at any time of the day surely the porter should have had some understanding of the discomfort a patient would have and have and realised that someone ( me ) was in the process of getting the car from the car park and would only had to wait a few minutes, very unimpressed.
While I am posting this message there is another comment I would like to make. My wife was advised early afternoon that she could go home and had to wait for her medication, it took over 4 hours for this medication to arrive. There were others on the ward who were also waiting for their medication, some waiting for 6 hours.
I know this is not a one off or due to it being a Saturday as in the past earlier in the year we had to wait over 5 hours for medication to arrive and know of others who have had the same experience of waiting for medication.
I would not like these negative comments to distract from the comments made at the start of this message about the excellent service given to my wife in all the other areas of her treatment.
"Excellent service apart from the porter and waiting for medication."
About: Derriford Hospital / Trauma and orthopaedics Derriford Hospital Trauma and orthopaedics PL6 8DH
Posted by Mr Zog (as ),
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