Care Opinion

I've been sort of abandoned by all

Posted By Disappointted Ayrshire

"I've been sort of abandoned by all"

About: University Hospital Ayr / Trauma & orthopaedics

(as the patient),

Well where do I start. Went in Ayr hospital to have a knee replacement surgery. When I went to the theatre for surgery the anaesthetist had to ask me to make myself smaller as the guide wasn’t big enough. So they carried on, someone said to me to lift my leg as they thought it wouldn’t move so when I lifted it they gave me a general.

I woke up, all seemed well, back to ward. Told them of my reaction to codeine: serious constipation - but they still gave me codeine. Within an hour I knew what had happened, that day I was unable to pass water so they catheterised me (high blood pressure ). The next day still the codeine, still constipated. Drunk all possible laxatives, kept on telling the staff about me and codeine.

They had to keep me an extra day as they couldn’t stop leg from bleeding , the staff put on a pressure pad and bleeding stopped. Still constipated, so then as it was my discharge day , a staff nurse came in and told me to lay on my side and the term of “rocket fuel “ was spoke of. He told to hold on as much I could and then go to the toilet , that was quickly followed by a shower. Left hospital and went home.

It’s now late June and I've been sort of abandoned by all . Well I asked about my codeine problem and I was told by the complaints section at Ayr hospital that I hadn’t said anything to anyone about my codeine problem  and I had moved my bowels on the day of my operation and the next day;  this wasn’t true. They had no record of anyone giving me an enema  and was told by the complaints dept that the log book was correct and I was wrong .

I am still in great pain and been so since October. I saw the consultant recently and  he suspects that the pain and discomfort I been suffering since October was in part caused by the anaesthetist missing the right part and then causing nerve damage in my back which is transferring to my knee which is still swollen , hot and very painful.

I’ve now been put on a drug called pregabalin, been on it now for six weeks there has been a marginal improvement, but I am still not able to sleep at night as getting comfortable is a problem.

I feel the complaints dept in Ayr has been very obstructive, keep on telling me that the ward report is a legal document and it’s gospel saying the truth but as far as I am concerned it’s false information.

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Responses

Response from Karen Andrews, General Manager, Surgical Services, Surgical Services, Ayr Hospital, NHS Ayrshire and Arran 5 months ago
Karen Andrews
General Manager, Surgical Services, Surgical Services, Ayr Hospital,
NHS Ayrshire and Arran

Submitted on 01/07/2024 at 11:52
Published on Care Opinion at 11:52

Dear Disappointed Ayrshire

I was sorry to read that the care you received did not meet your expectations. The service always aims to provide the highest quality of care possible and to listen to feedback from patients.

I am aware that the service is working with the complaints department to respond to the points you have raised and hopefully the complaints team will be back in touch with you soon with a response to the points you have made.

Feedback is always welcomed from our patients both positive and negative. Where feedback identifies areas where we could have done better we would ensure that the issues are shared with the service and any learning would be but in place where appropriate.

We will be back in touch with you direct just as soon as we can.

kind regards

Karen Andrews, General Manager

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Disappointted Ayrshire (the patient)

Had a response from Ayr Hospital about the service I’ve had from them, it was from a nurse who showed me empathy. It was during my second pre op after you get weighed, height, and blood pressure taken you get sent to a second nurse who goes through your general health.

We were talking about my general health because I was in so much pain and discomfort I knew and the nurse also understood that if I had my second knee surgery done that it wouldn’t be right, as it is now July I am still not ready for it.

I am a home carer for my wife if the second knee surgery had gone as badly as the first there would now be two people most probably receiving home care - me and my wife.

As I said I feel this nurse has been the only person who had taken care of me, who has listened and believed me. In fact the surgeon was contacted and they arranged an appointment with them.

I am now trying to get hold of my notes so I can see how my memory of the stay in hospital compares with the version written there. I already know that the two versions are not the same, having spoken to the complaints department.

Update posted by Disappointted Ayrshire (the patient)

As an update what’s happening now is I’ve found out that the ward notes are incorrect, according to the ward notes I had bowel movements every day whilst I was in but that is untrue - in fact the drugs they gave me, constipated me for four days. On the day off home going I was given an enema - there's no mention of that in my notes - and the result was a movement meaning treatments were left out, so I question it.

It's been alleged that my mental capacity isn't up to much and that I have been dishonest, this isn’t correct and seemingly I’ve got to accept that the hospital can do as they like, then not record it correctly in notes, so why bother with them? Apparently they (ward notes) are legal documents and they can’t be changed, but if they are not accurate how legal are they, I am trying to find out.

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