"Partner's Hysterectomy at Trafford General Hospital"

My fiancee went into hospital on the monday, for a planned total abdominal hysterectomy. The surgery went well, and after minor complications, she left on the Friday. The problems occurred not in the medical care, but the organisation and ward care. We felt that the communication on the ward was diabolical. Whenever we asked for something, the nurses would wander off, with no indication of when anything would be sorted.

My partner was struggling with sickness, and had been promised an anti-nausea tablet, but this took so long to arrive, that by the time it did, she had already been sick.

I arrived one day during visiting hours, and her drip had run out. I mentioned this to the nurse at 6pm.. they finally got round to changing it at 2am, waking my fiancee up to do it.

This was one of the few times she had managed to get any sleep, as a patient on another ward had their tv turned up so loud, that it was impossible to sleep. When she asked why it couldn't be turned down, the response of the nurse was "he gets upset if we ask him to turn it down"!

On the friday, she was told that she could leave that day, but would have to wait for her medication to be sorted by the pharmacy. This sounds ok, but while this was happening (it took from 9am to 5.30pm), they were unable to dispense her any painkillers, as her medical notes had been sent to the pharmacy. When she asked about this, she was told it was "normal".

It seems as though there is a distinct lack of any sort of management or joined up thinking in the way that the ward is run. Whilst the nurses no doubt try their best, there is an impression left that the patient is some way down the list of priorities, below process and form filling.