"Left in pain for four hours"

I attended Crosshouse Hospital for a hysterectomy. Initially, from the surgery to the recovery, everything was wonderful and amazing.

However, there was a four hour period where things went badly wrong. I fell asleep after my operation and woke up in extreme pain. I couldn’t find the buzzer. The pain was so bad, I could hardly talk so struggled to call for a nurse to help.

Eventually a nurse came and gave me some co-codamol. I could barely lift my head and I was shaking due to the pain I was in. Due to my shaking, I spilt some of the water on my bed. This soaked the sheet right through but it wasn’t dealt with, so I was left with wet bedsheets.

My temperature and my heart rate was high. Staff tried to put a cannula into my hand, however this tissued and caused me to have a swollen arm. Then the same happened on my hand and left arm. I was left with bruises on my left wrist. Eventually the doctor put the cannula into my right hand. However I was left from 3pm until 7pm with two cannula's painfully left in my left hand and left arm.

My sheet was also left soaking for this period. My catheter bag was also left just lying on my bed for around two and a half hours, with no one emptying it. After I was given the co-codamol I was just left in extreme pain, with no buzzer.

Things got so bad a patient in the bed next to be got out and buzzed for me, asking for pain relief. I was lying and breathing heavily as a way to try to deal with the sensation. The lady next to me helped again.

Eventually a young doctor or consultant (I’m not sure which) popped in and out and was lovely. He was really, really nice and did a tremendous job of helping me. He contacted the surgeon who came to see me. The surgeon was also really nice and did an amazing job – she wrote me up some medication which helped.

I must also mention the nurse who attended me at night was also amazing. She checked my catheter and empitied it which gave me instant relief. She also gave me a heatpack.

I’m upset about the length of time I was left in a distressed state, between 3pm and 7pm. In particular, 3pm was visiting time and the curtains around me were left wide open, so I felt very vulnerable. It wasn’t until my daughter visited me that we got these issues dealt with.

I still have an infection four weeks down the line, and I feel this time period with nothing to eat or drink, as well as the pain I was in, could’ve contributed to this lasting so long.