"The doctors and the nurses on the ward need to be..."

What I liked

The eye treatment I received was good. The eye doctor appeared professional and he treated my eye condition well.

What could be improved

I was an inpatient on the surgical ward. The eye doctor and the nursing staff were not in good communication. My other needs (ie: severe vomiting, dehydration, and the effects of this on my diabetes, etc) were not being addressed by the eye doctor and I was not seen by a general medical doctor. The nurses were at a disadvantage as to providing the appropriate care for my non-eye needs. At the end of my stay in hospital, the eye doctor admitted that I should have been seen by a medical doctor for my other needs when I first came to the ward, but that did not happen.

There appeared to be very little communication between the doctor and the nurses on the ward. When I told the doctor that I had not eaten in 3 days, he asked why and that I needed to eat. I explained to him about my severe vomiting. After the vomiting was addressed by medication, the nurses still had me listed as a free liquids diet patient, even 24 hours after the doctor stated that I should have been eating. I was not on a saline drip, so I was rather dehydrated. The whole experience was not good. I did not recieve any food at all until I told 3 different people that I am supposed to be receiving a food tray.

This situation left me very worried. If I had of been unable to communicate my needs, my health could have been severely compromised. As this was my first experience with Darlington Hopital as an inpatient, I hope my situation was unique and not the norm.