"There is very little to like about ..."

What I liked

There is very little to like about the hospital, the walls in some of the public areas are rotting, Staff on the ward rarely had time for the patients and at times left them to fend for themselves. They mixed up the medication twice at shift handover and had to be reminded of the correct medication. The staff (including the doctors) never cleaned their hands as they entered and left the ward and when they went from patient to patient.

What could be improved

The standards of clenliness could be improved. When beds are cleaned and made ready for new patients, the whole bed frame and rails should be cleaned not just the matress cover. The bed frames were dusty and no attempts were made to clean those areas. Staff should be re-encouraged to clean their hands as and when they enter and leave the ward and when they move between patients. The staff uniforms should be washed daily.

Anything else?

Privacy should be paramount, both doctors and nurses discussed medical problems in front of visitors and the visitors of other patients. Medical notes were lost for some time. It is not clear if the notes are complete and if all the notes were written up for the period when the doctors visited while the notes were misplaced.

Upon discharge, instructions that were given on the ward were not repeated to the discharge unit nor to the GP. There were conflicting stories from the hospital, GP and district nurse regarding who was responisble for what. During those times, the patient was in severe distress and getting no assistance from anyone.