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I lay there not knowing what was going on.

Posted By falconqj53

"I lay there not knowing what was going on."

About: Craigavon Area Hospital / 4 North Surgical Craigavon Area Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a service user),

So I had gallbladder surgery on a Thursday which went smoothly. Early hours of a Sunday morning I was brought into hospital by ambulance. I sat from 6am in the waiting area for hours in absolute agony screaming in pain. I was ignored.

Further down the line I was finally given a cubicle where I thought I would be able to rest after being awake for 48 hours. Within 30 mins I was taken out of that room and put out into the staff area lying on a bed in tears while nurses an doctors carried on around me. I lay there till 12 that night not knowing what was going on.

Finally I was moved at 12 upstairs till 4 North and left to lie at the side of a corridor with no call button incase I needed help. At this stage I couldn’t even stand up straight to get myself to the toilet. I lost all my dignity and respect this day while people walked past staring at me. I had been having cold sweats so I wasn’t a pretty picture but to me it was very embarrassing. 

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Responses

Response from Tracey McGuigan, Lead Nurse Surgery, Craigavon Area Hospital, Surgery and Clinical Services Directorate, Southern Health and Social Care Trust 2 months ago
Tracey McGuigan
Lead Nurse Surgery, Craigavon Area Hospital, Surgery and Clinical Services Directorate,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 13/02/2025 at 17:42
Published on Care Opinion at 17:42

Tracey McGuigan Lead Nurse SCS

Thank you for taking the time to share your very personal experience of the care you received within 4 North.

I would like to sincerely apologize that you felt loss of dignity and respect having been placed on the corridor in 4N. As a trust we strive to ensure all our service users are treated with the highest standard of professionalism and care.

Sadly due to bed capacity pressures higher volumes of patients are placed within the wards some patients are placed on the corridor. This is not ideal to maintain patients privacy & dignity. I am very sorry your experience was poor. Please accept my sincere apology on behalf on team 4 North

Kind regards

Tracey

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Response from Stacey Hardy, Lead Nurse CAH Emergency Department, DHH Emergency Department and STH Minors Injuries Unit, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate, Southern Health and Social Services Trust last month
Stacey Hardy
Lead Nurse CAH Emergency Department, DHH Emergency Department and STH Minors Injuries Unit, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate,
Southern Health and Social Services Trust

Submitted on 03/03/2025 at 22:35
Published on Care Opinion at 22:35

Thank you for taking the time to share your recent experience of the Emergency Department at Craigavon Area Hospital. The department continues to have a high number of patients awaiting a bed on an in-patient ward which means there is reduced capacity within cubicles. This reduced capacity means the waiting to be seen and assessed by a doctor can be quite long. Due to the long waiting time we have a nurse allocated to review and assess patients in the waiting room by rechecking clinical observations and assessing pain levels. In the instance were this nurse is not available the triage nurse is available to provide additional pain relief when requested. I wish to apologize that while your were waiting to be seen in the waiting room your pain level was not controlled.

Due to the increased bed pressure and reduced cubicle capacity within the department we have a few cubicles which are used to see and assess new patients in and these are then freed up for the next patient. Unfortunately the staff have to care for patients on the floor spaces within clinical areas or on the corridor as there is not enough cubicles for all patients. The nursing staff try their best to meet all patients needs while they remain in the department awaiting a bed on a ward despite it not being in an ideal location.

Again I wish to apologize on behalf of the department for the negative experience which you describe during your stay. I hope you are recovering well following your surgery.

Stacey

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