"Very little privacy and dignity in MAU"

I went into Musgrove Park Hospital last week. I was in the Medical Assessment Unit for over 12 hours. Overall, my experience was positive but the conditions of the MAU in terms of privacy and dignity left much to be desired.

Curtains were not enough to maintain any sort of privacy in such a tiny area. After a few hours, I knew the medical history of all of the other patients in the MAU and why they were in the unit.

One elderly woman was asked very personal information about her continence in full hearing of everyone. She was also given a very distressing diagnosis, which clearly upset her, with no privacy at all and everyone listening. It was impossible not to overhear everything.

While the staff were compassionate and professional, the conditions make any kind of privacy or dignity quite impossible.

I was also concerned that I was only offered a drink once in 12 hours. I asked the nursing staff twice for water but they did not bring any. They were clearly very busy indeed and doing the best they could. Eventually a 'tea man' came around and offered me a cup of water, but this was all I was offered.

I must praise the staff who were doing their best - in particular, the registrar on duty who was extremely reassuring and helpful. However, hydration in the MAU really needs to be looked at, as well as improving privacy and dignity.