"Short staffed, Bad comms..lacking management!"

Anything else?

My wife is currently in Wigan Infirmary and receiving, in my opinion, inadequate care for the following reasons:

Communication - At no point has she had a head of department or senior physician sit down with her and discuss what she can expect in respect of tests to diagnose her problem, or what the treatment would be for any of the possible ailments she might have. And as for anyone coming round during visits to give family an opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns, forget it!

Bed side manner / training - Some nurses and the occasional doctor are great, however there are a large minority who treat the patients badly. A doctor raised his voice to my wife saying "I don't know why you've been referred to me. You're not my problem!" like it was her fault. Nurses, when asked to administer pain meds stating in the most abrupt manner "When I've got time!" which frequently turns out to be several hours after they should have been administered. I have had my wife crying on the phone to me because the pain is intense and the meds (that should be administered every 4 to 6 hours) are finally given 10 hours after the last dose. This is for the whole ward. Not just an individual!

Administratively inept - My wife was referred for a scan (ultrasound) on a Friday. The weekend came and went with not even a visit from a doctor. Monday also passed. On Tuesday she asked when the ultrasound was going to happen..."What utlrasound??" They had lost the paperwork. She got the ultrasound on Wednesday. An orthopedic doctor came to take a look at her back pain after another 2 day period of seeing no-one. She didn't have back pain, nor had she ever complained of back pain. Another miscommunication that seemed to have wasted another couple of days.

Understaffed - The ward nurse in charge of administering meds is also the nurse in charge of running the 24 hour Gynaecology clinic on the ward. Consequently if the clinic is busy none of the admitted patients can get their meds (this is also covered by my point in the "Bed side manner / training" section. 3 nurses / nursing assistants were sitting chatting when they were asked to see about my wife's pain meds at 19:10. The nurse was busy in the clinic so she finally got the meds at 23:00 after being reduced to tears and having to repeatedly ask. The meds were due at 18:00.

Bedding in short supply - A new patient was admitted during then night and the bedding on the bed was clean less for some blood on the provided blanket from a previous patient. The nurse went to find a new one and came back after 45 minutes to tell the elderly lady that there were none and that she had to make do with just a sheet. My wife in this instance gave up hers and made to with her dressing gown until the next morning when a blanket could be found. This blanket shortage has repeated itself several times in the time my wife has been a patient.