"Treating Numbers versus Patient Dignity"

I recently spent a 2 nights in Dewsbury Hospital. There was a surfeit of posters telling me how wonderful the service was but sadly this was in complete contrast with the process I experienced.

From the beginning where there were too few rooms to conduct pre-op patient interviews without being interrupted by others looking for rooms to use, to being kept in the resuss room for 4 and a half hours because there were no beds in the ward, to lying in dirty seeping dressings for over 3 hours after I offered to change them myself, to injecting me with drugs which I believed to be part of my agreed treatment, but I discovered was something completely different to combat thrombosis even though I was undertaking regular exercises myself. A woman just came into my space and gave me an injection without saying what it was let alone asking for my permission.

Sitting in my own blood with blood visible on my night clothes and blooded gown at the end of the bed when suddenly the ward was full of male visitors. I am old enough to have been raised to keep my menstrual flow hidden from my menfolk let alone strangers I was mortified. But staff just said 'not to worry'. So I cried and hid behind the curtains not knowing when I could get clean sheets. It seems this happens in the mornings but no-one thought I might like to know this.

Then my paperwork went missing and I had to stay in for a further 24 hours whilst they were located.

I cannot see how any of this is in line with maintaining patient dignity. Indeed one of the receptionists boasted to me about how rude and dismissive she is to patients. Whilst there were a couple of outstanding staff there were more who were rude, patronising and who appeared to hate their jobs.

One member of staff said that the hospital is being closed so the staff are demotivated.

I am going to join the waiting list at a different hospital as I have no confidence in this one at all.