"Generally felt well cared for, communication could..."

What I liked

I wanted to pass on my thanks and appreciation to the staff who cared for me during a recent stay (5/1 to 11/1) on Ward 203, Frenchay.

It was my first real visit to a hospital at all, never mind as a patient, and I was quite nervous and bewildered by the whole experience initially, but the nurses that cared for me, particularly in the first two days that I was there did an excellent job at putting me at ease, and were friendly, but also efficient, professional and thoroughly committed to doing their jobs well.

I am aware that it can be a pressurised environment to work in, with good friends and family involved in the healthcare profession, so I wanted to draw attention to the great job that the staff on the ward did at looking after me during my stay in hospital.

What could be improved

I was disappointed with the amount of time that I had to wait, having arrived at 10.30pm and eventually getting admitted to the ward at 6.30am the following morning, having waited in various parts of A & E throughout the night in between being seen by the staff.

Although it was difficult waiting as I was in a lot of pain at the time, the major thing that would have made things easier would have been to have had clearer communication about what was happening. At one point I was left in a cubicle in A & E from 2.30am-5.00am without really being told what was happening. I don't blame any of the staff individually for this, but I would have liked to be kept updated rather than just left to wait.

Another point of possible improvement could be to have some form of explanation about what is happening if you are moved to a ward. I was moved in the early hours of the morning, and even just a short welcome from a nurse would have helped me understand what was happening as I hadn't really been told anything.

I was a little disappointed that one of the nurses that was on the night shift a few times made it widely known that they were short-staffed and the individual right from the start of the shift was saying that they were never going to get everything done.

I understand about working under pressure, but I feel that a certain level of professionalism still needs to be maintained throughout and on this occasion, I didn't feel that it was.

Anything else?

Despite a few ideas for areas of improvement, I was delighted overall with the level of care and support that I got from the staff during my stay in the hospital.