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Wife's Admission from A&E/Fracture Clinic

Posted By oldfeller

"Wife's Admission from A&E/Fracture Clinic"

About: Lincoln County Hospital / Accident and emergency Lincoln County Hospital / Trauma and orthopaedics

(as a relative),

My wife attended A&E one sunday having fallen on wrist. Diagnosis - right distal radius fracture. Lower arm set in plaster and appointment made to attend Fracture Clinic for following Tuesday for assessment by Consultant. Attended and, following plaster removal and X-ray, Consultant gave very full explanation of injury and recommended necessary treatment/prognosis including need for further treatment (pinning/plate) under general anaesthesia.

A bed would be sought, followed by call to staff from coordinator that we should not go home as absence when bed was found would allow another patient to have it. Some 4 hours later, admitted to Neustadt-Welton Ward with a view to operating on the Wednesday, hence no food/drink from then on. Finally, informed Wednesday tea-time that operation would not take place until Thursday for reasons of theatre availability.

Given meal but informed nothing by mouth after 3 am Thursday. Operation took place approximately 9: 30ish Thursday. Spent some 4hrs in Recovery and was eventually discharged to ward at approximately 2 pm well 'out of it'.

Normal discharge that evening was postponed until Friday for reasons of very slow recovery. Discharged Friday at approximately 3: 30 pm following brief from staff.

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Responses

Response from United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 9 years ago
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 22/10/2014 at 09:30
Published on Care Opinion at 17:04

Dear Oldfella

Thank you for sharing you and your wife's recent experience at Lincoln. Regarding the operation, sometimes more urgent trauma patients will take the theatre slots and this is unavoidable. It is sometimes a difficult call to make regarding starving a patient who is waiting for an operation especially if the theatre slots are taken by more urgent cases and there is a delay but if we do allow patients to eat then there is space on the list, they miss the chance to get to theatre that day.

I hope your wife is on the road to a full recovery.

Regards

Mr M Feeney

Clinical Director Orthopaedics

Lincoln County Hosptial

Update posted by oldfeller (a relative)

Thank you for your response. I hasten to point out that I/we weren't complaining about the wait/starving as that's likely to happen as emergencies occur. I also wish to make it plain that I/we were very happy with the treatment received throughout my wife's stay. My main point was that despite every effort, the staff were frustrated at being unable to provide the service they obviously want to - this, in turn, has led to apparent low team morale. The staff are more than willing to carry out all necessary tasks for the patients but there are not enough of them. There were examples of patients being escorted to the toilet (only just in time!) and left there for up to 20 minutes or so.

Please pass on our thanks to the staff for their nursing and attention during my wife's stay. Surely, Bank staff cost much more than permanent staff?

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