"Pleasantly shocked and surprised in equal measure"

Admitted through a&e via local doctor who called an ambulance and would not me leave the practice alone to travel to hospital with fever, heart racing, chronic diarrhea, severe stomach pain.

A&e was beyond the capacity it was ever designed for which could be off putting but can’t blame hospital or staff for volume of patients, you can only work with the physical space/facilities you have. 

So took a while to be seen to as staff have to prioritize from a clinical stand point which while may not sit well is understandable.

But once decision was made to admit me was taken, things started moving with a speed and purpose  which, never having been admitted to hospital before, left me in no doubt about the dedication and professionalism of all from porters to consultants. 

Batteries  of tests and scans within 1-2 hours of admission. Met with 2 consultants within this time who both explained the initial diagnosis of crohns, collitis, ibs and the very real and imminent possibility of emergency surgery to remove my small bowel and fitment of  a stoma if a crash course of IV antibiotics, fluids and steroids were unsuccessful.  This was after an initial diagnosis of, in their own words, an impressively inflamed bowel. Thankfully this is now a steadily receding option.

Having been on various wards from assessment to surgical to eventually gastro, I have nothing but praise for all staff both seen and unseen. Any terminology I didn’t understand I just asked and it was explained in more understandable language, so don’t just nod and say yes then not have clue what was said, be honest, don’t keep things from them, it just makes thing harder and more drawn out.

Some wards, especially the surgical, were noisy at night but as these are surgical wards there are things moving and happening with staff/ patient moving at all hours which is to be expected due to clinical issues.  I was there as  a 60/70 percent chance of surgery initially which then thankfully reduced on a daily basis. After 3/4/5 days which are a bit fuzzy and don’t really seem to follow any order, I found myself being moved through the wards until space was found on  the gastro ward. This has a limited capacity  but as this was explained by both surgical and gastro consultant and all nurses and  clinical support workers all through the process  (when I could focus), so it left me feeling informed and while this is stressful, reasonably relaxed about things while at times feeling absolutely dreadful. 

But on a more personal note I cannot  thank the nurses, csws and domestic staff enough for putting me and my family at ease. As I have primary age children this helped relax the situation with smiles, laughter and banter which can take your mind off things and stops you overthinking the issue. I  truly believe this helps with recovery and can provide relief with what at times is a scary process. I would personally give a 5 Star to all staff for the care, dedication and commitment, both seen and unseen, and while trying not to sound ungrateful to all staff who I have met and who have helped me along this path, and for whom I have nothing but respect and heartfelt thanks, I would give some special thanks to all at ward 10. 

On a different note I am aware that this hospital has received criticism for its appearance  and condition, but having traveled through the wards and departments in the past three weeks it is a hospital clearly at the very limit if not already past its designed life span which in reality means it requires immense expenditure just to keep operating at the kind of level which could be reasonably expected. And as a new hospital is being planned, how much can you reasonably expect to be ploughing into something which will not provide any additional benefit. Personally I found wards  and toilets /showers to be of a high standard of cleanliness with regular sweeping, mopping, disinfecting. All due to a small but very hard working team who do not deserve some of the criticism directed towards them. Likewise, i felt the students, csws, and nurses did not deserve any of the criticism I have heard. 

I am grateful for the small army it takes to run just one hospital day that turns up day and night.