"My daughter was a patient, I was ..."

What I liked

My daughter was a patient, I was able to stay wth her and we had a sleeping area for me. There was also a large play area for the children who were able to use it. Some of the staff had great skills when dealing with children particularly one of the Dr's.

What could be improved

My daughters 'obs' were taken 3 times a day and she received medication 3 times aday. Beyond that she received no nursing, I had to continually seek out nurses (generally sitting at the nursing station) to ask for information. I felt very strongly that as I had opted to stay with my child, she received no care or attention, infact when I left the ward when she was asleep I was treated with utter contempt. Communication was appalling, and whilst I fully accept I may be an over anxious parent (but aren't we all in that situation?) surely the best way to deal with that is to reassure me and not ignore me?

Anything else?

Sadly, cleaning and food remain issues in Sunderland.Cannot beleive that a nutritionist is actually paid to create the menu - crisps, sandwich and jelly for lunch, everyday? We were in our room for 5 days and it was only really cleaned once. Additionally wards all had dirty areas, walls or curtains. But most important thing to change has to be attitudes of the nurses, I know its a tough job, esp. in paed's but you are not forced to do it, it is far too important a job to do reluctantly and with a bad attitude.