"Poor discharge and treatment "

This is the treatment my son received during his stay at Northwick Park Hospital. Whilst he was given the correct treatment in A&E, he was then transferred to another ward where he spent two days. He told me he was in constant pain and we were told the only pain relief was Paracetamol and insisted upon greater pain relief. One nurse told him they did not have any on the ward and would have to go to A&E. I felt like they were treating him as if this was a great inconvenience. He was given a dye and scan, the dye had the effect of opening his bowels with chronic diarrhea. This led to the medical team interpreting him as recovering. He was chronically dehydrated upon admission and put on a drip. This was removed and he was then told he was well enough to eat and go home. On discharge he was given paracetamol for his pain. I had to support him into the car as it was clear to me he was still in a lot of pain, and by 5am the following morning I had to ring the out of hours doctor to discuss my concerns over his level of pain. I had some tramadol left over from a previous event and the Dr agreed for him to take this. I then watched him suffer in pain longer as he was too distressed with pain to be moved.

I eventually took him to Watford General Hospital. On arrival at WGH, he was to me clearly dehydrated and his heart rate was 120 beats per min. He had a temperature and was screaming in pain. He is now on morphine and having been seen by the Surgeon it was suggested his obstruction is not resolved. I am appalled at the way in which my son was discharged and I understand from what my son has told me that the Dr who discharged him did not even feel his stomach which my son believes was still distended and painful. He was told the pains "were stomach cramps". We both thought his stay on the ward was also appalling. I did think the Sister was excellent and I can only commend her for her professional approach. However, I felt as if the nurses behaved as though they could not give a damn. When my son asked for anything, it seemed to me they waited for a long time before responding. His cannula was falling out and the nurse took two hours to deal with his discomfort. He asked for a pad when going to the toilet and without any communication back, the nurse bought the pad and I saw them simply throw it on the bed. My son explained to me the nurses did not turn out the night light and were very noisy, when my son asked them to turn the light out at 1pm she said they needed it on for the nurses station. When my son pointed out their lights at the nurses station she said they were not very bright. In short, in my opinion both the medical care and nursing care he received whilst at NPH was not only very distressing but possibly very dangerous.