"EPADS / G1"

Myself and my partner recently found ourselves having to attend the early pregnancy department a couple of times this month resulting in a day stay on Ward G1.

Throughout our EPADS appointments we were treated with dignity and respect and kept informed throughout.

The staff on G1 were fantastic, though overworked - especially as the ward had been closed that morning with a norovirus outbreak.

I was discharged later that evening - though if I had not been persistant in requesting this, I could've well been staying overnight.

My only faults lie with having to wait an hour and a half in the recovery room for someone to wheel me back down to the ward (after the nurse in recovery had phoned four times).

Once back on the ward I was told once I had eaten, drank and passed urine I could be discharged so I took to this straight away.

Once the nurses had me settled in the bed, I was provided with a jug of water.

At no point was I offered any food.

Luckily my mother had bought me something to eat, but I still feel as though they should've checked this.

We had to check twice (as the fist batch of staff did not know), as to whether I needed to provide a urine sample of just go in the toilet.

I also had to request that the needle in my hand be taken out as it kept catching to which I was told 'we usually like to leave this in until discharge'.

Needless to say I had it removed.

When I asked to be discharged (as I had eaten, drank and used the toilet) I was then told that they usually like to keep you in for 4 hours after a general - first I heard! Though as the nurse could see I was fine and my observations were all consistently ok, she agreed to speed up discharge.

However, it was still a 4 hour wait until I was discharged at 10pm.

Overall my stay was a comfortable one (even being nil by mouth until 5pm) though the majority of the day was made up of waiting.

I do believe however that, not just on this ward but throughout the hospital, the elderly and 'moaners' do get dealt with quicker and more rapidly than the younger and more quieter patients.