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Lacking in empathy , awful communication

Story from nhs.uk

"Lacking in empathy , awful communication"

About: Cumberland Infirmary

What I liked

I recently attended the Day Surgery unit, and whilst the actual proceedure went fine, the aftercare in the ward was sadly lacking. I was ignored for hours, no-one spoke to me explained anything, I had a drip and oxygen mask on, the drip ran out and started to back fill with blood, I had to grab a nurse to deal with it, no-one told me if I needed the mask, so I took it off and it hissed at my side for hours. I was in a lot of pain, and when I eventually found the buzzer, behind me on the back of the bed, I asked for pain relief and recieved some. I found this absolute lack of communication really un-nerving, I wanted to know what was going on but no-one could be bothered to spend 30 seconds updating me. Surely this is basic nursing?

I was also sent home with one of the three things precribed to me, so has to collect and pay for two items myself, I still don't know what dose to take as there was no information on the prescription.

What could be improved

Communication by the nurses about what is going on, what I could and couldn't do for example eat? drink? take off the mask?? It takes a minute and makes such a difference!

Anything else?

I will probably need another proceedure, I will be looking if there is somewhere else I can have it

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Responses

Response from Cumberland Infirmary 10 years ago
Cumberland Infirmary

Submitted on 10/02/2014 at 14:30
Published on nhs.uk on 11/02/2014 at 03:00

Firstly, may we apologise for the length of time it has taken to respond about your experiences of the Cumberland Infirmary. We have recently put in a new system to ensure that in future, we respond in a more timely way. We are pleased that you felt your day surgery went well but disappointed that the aftercare you received on the ward was clearly lacking. Following our recent reviews, we have now restructured our wards in terms of staffing and each Ward Manager is carrying our regular ward rounds to ensure that patients are being well cared for and that their needs are being met. This has hopefully improved communication on the wards that you have mentioned was so poor when you visited us. We have also opened a new discharge lounge at the Cumberland Infirmary and improved the way we communicate with patients concerning their medicines. We hope this has reassured you and our apologies again that your own experience of aftercare was not a good one.

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