Care Opinion

Placed there to get us out of the ward at quick as possible

Posted By Fatbloke

"Placed there to get us out of the ward at quick as possible"

About: North Devon District Hospital / Discharge Hub North Devon District Hospital / General surgery North Devon District Hospital / Radiology (X-ray)

(as a service user),

Really rough back pain and an ache in my right arm, I was admitted to Lundy ward. Have say that the nurses and doctors were absolutely magic.

The Mri machine had failed so had to wait over a weekend for the scan. Once the scan was done it showed that i had passed a gall stone that was sitting outside the gall bladder, this require a surgical procedure, i was back on the ward by lunch time and was ready to leave on the day after. The decision for me to leave was made after the doctors rounds.

I was moved to the discharge hub at in the morning and told that there were all the facilities that were on the ward. There are no mobile phone signal available, no provision of meals that had been ordered only 30 minutes before leaving the ward. There was only seating that was very uncomfortable, no provision for table requirements, the one bed was occupied, there needed to be more beds.

It felt that we were just placed there to get us out of the ward at quick as possible.

This last action tainted the whole visit having to sit in an uncomfortable chair for four hours was really bad especially as for the want of an Ariel all the waiting patients would be able to contact there families.

It needs to have a dedicated food person available, the collection of drugs and medication needs to be sped up, I would suggest that no movement from the ward to the discharge hub should be made until the drugs etc are given to the patient in the ward.

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Responses

Response from Gill Kite, Superintendent Radiographer/Radiology Governance Lead (Northern Services), Radiology, North Devon District Hospital (Northern Services), Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust last month
Gill Kite
Superintendent Radiographer/Radiology Governance Lead (Northern Services), Radiology, North Devon District Hospital (Northern Services),
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

I am a Diagnostic Radiographer with many years experience of working, and imaging patients, in all areas of the Radiology department. I am also responsible for the governance in Radiology and so make sure that we are compliant with the many ionising radiation regulations that dictate what we can and can't do in radiology, keep the patients and staff safe and ensure we are practicing safely. I also deal with our policies and procedures and oversee compliments, complaints and quality.

Submitted on 15/10/2024 at 09:21
Published on Care Opinion at 09:21

picture of Gill Kite

Dear Fatbloke,

Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback following your recent stay in hospital. I'm so sorry that you were not able to have your MRI scan over the weekend and had to wait, unfortunately sometimes this is unavoidable due to breakdowns or failures in equipment and staffing etc. However we are developing future plans to expand the service to include weekend working and the possibility of a 2nd scanner that will help to bolster the service further.

I hope you are recovering well at home and I'm sure that someone will also be in touch with you about your ward and discharge lounge experience.

Kind regards

Gill

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Response from Tracey Squire, Discharge Hub Manager (Northern Services), Discharge Hub (Northern Services), Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust last month
We are preparing to make a change
Tracey Squire
Discharge Hub Manager (Northern Services), Discharge Hub (Northern Services),
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 15/10/2024 at 10:33
Published on Care Opinion at 10:49

Dear Fatbloke

I'm very sorry that your experience of the Discharge Hub did not meet your expectations. Due to the pressures of the NHS and need to create greater flow throughout the hospital, the discharge hub has been instrumental in freeing up space in our Emergency Department and on the wards. This means that your bed on Lundy was available (within a reasonable time frame) to you when you were admitted.

The discharge process for all wards/areas is now through the discharge hub for the reasons explained above. All patients are transferred awaiting their transport and medications.

Sorry that you found the seating uncomfortable, the chairs within the hub are the same as those used throughout the hospital. I am unsure what you mean by one bed as we have 7 bed spaces available and if these were free could have been utilised by yourself if required. There are also tables available if required.

I'm sorry you did not have any mobile phone signal, this has already been raised and there are plans to address. We do have portable phones within the hub which you could have used if you wished.

Meal provision is a picnic lunch within the hub, hot drinks and snacks are readily available throughout the day. Hot meals are not provided.

I'm also sorry you had a wait for your medications. However, there is a process that must be followed when prescribing and dispensing take home medications. The turn around time to dispense medications is 4 hours from the time the pharmacist has screened.

Kind regards

Tracey

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Response from Tara Adamson, Ward Manager (Northern Services), Lundy Ward (Northern Services), Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust last month
Tara Adamson
Ward Manager (Northern Services), Lundy Ward (Northern Services),
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 23/10/2024 at 14:49
Published on Care Opinion at 19:05

Dear Fatbloke,

I do hope that you are recovering well after your recent stay on Lundy ward.

I am delighted to hear that you thought the Nurses and the Doctors were magic but I am very sorry that you felt rushed out of the ward on the morning of your discharge. I appreciate that this would leave you feeling dissatisfied and I can only apologise to you for this and hope that it won't impact any future hospital visits that you may have.

kindest regards

Tara

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