"Recent orthopaedic surgery"

About: Altnagelvin Area Hospital / Trauma & Orthopaedics

(as the patient),

I was recently admitted to Ward 23 in Altnagelvin Hospital for surgery on my collarbone. 

I was advised to attend Wd 23 for admission the evening before planned surgery for admission. I struggled to find ward 23, as an NHS member of staff I knew where some of the new wards were but had not been on wards 21, 23, 25.  I could not see signs for ward 23 or a lift, I eventually found stairs. I am hoping it is better signposted now that the new entrance hall has been opened. 

I was met at the entrance and shown to my room where I was admitted.

Staff: I must say that the staff in ward 23, trauma co-ordinator and anaesthetic staff were excellent, sorry I don't have any memory of the theatre/recovery staff. Thankfully I don't have to access inpatient services too often and am usually the one providing the service. My admission did reinforce to me the importance of 'Hello, my name is...' as a way of indroduction, confidence building and reducing anxiety, especially when feeling vunerable. Thanks especially to; Nurses Eimer (who admitted me) and Hope on night duty, Hope was great the night after my surgery. Brittany and Sinead (who looked after me on day of surgery) and Student nurse Hannah who regularly checked my obs and that I was ok. Kerry who helped me with ADL and getting ready for home. I wish to thank Sister Cairns for calling my Mum and providing reassuance to her when I arrived back from theatre, it is difficult in these 'Covid' times when relatives can't visit and this call was invaluable. 

I also wish to congratulate her on her team, the care provided makes me proud to also be a member of staff in the NHS. SN Tasha who was the theatre nurse was efficient and reassuring. Thanks also to Kim (pharmacist) Shannon (physio) and Martina (phlebotomist). Many thanks to the medical team for undertaking my surgery, I am hoping to make a good recovery and get back to regular exercise - maybe I'll skip running for a while. 

Room: The new ward is lovely, rooms are spacious and clean. It was disappointing that the TV on the arm didn't work, it just kept flashing and stating that it couldn't download. I couldn't get it turned off and it flashed in the dark so I had to cover it with a towel. Unfortunately the TVs always seem to be an issue as both SWAH and OHPCC have issues, it is a pity mistakes could not be learned from these units and working systems installed.  I wasn't in for long but could understand if I was in longer it would be frustrating. I was told by the domestic staff that the TVs only worked on the top floor. 

Food: Eimer made me tea and toast on admission, which was very welcome then I fasted so by 5pm the day after surgery, I was hungry and the evening meal was very welcome and tasty - though the potatoes had a strange 'skin' on them that didn't mash. The catering assistants were pleasant, however I was only given a cup of tea at suppertime after surgery. It is important that patients should be offered biscuits or toast or perhaps a scone - nutrition is so important for recovery and especially when patients have fasted pre surgery as well as the fact that with no visitors bringing in snacks the importance of snacks and the role of the catering assistant in providing and encouraging intake should be emphasized as part of patients recovery. 

Allergy: When asked (on a number of occasions)  I advised that I was allergic to the adhesive in plasters. Unfortunately an adhesive dressing was applied in theatre. I did not know this and was advised to attend treatment room for a check on Monday post surgery. By Sunday I had notable inflammation, blistering and itch. As I didn't know what the wound was like under dressing and didn't have any sterile dressings at home I had to attend Urgent care in OHPCC who removed the dressing, placed an non adhesive dressing onto wound and provided anti-histamines. I had a number of difficult days with itch and discomfort and required an antibiotic (GP was concerned that blistering and ooze would infect wound) and stronger antihistamine from GP. The redness and itch have now reduced. It is important that when advised that the patient has an allergy to the adhesive (colophony) in dressings that this is taken onboard as the consequences are very unpleasant. 

Overall the service was really good and I don't want this review to take away from that, however I do hope my suggestions are taken onboard to improve the service for future service users. 

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Responses

Response from Brian McCay, Senior Operations and Maintenance Manager, Performance & Service Improvement, WHSCT 3 years ago
Brian McCay
Senior Operations and Maintenance Manager, Performance & Service Improvement,
WHSCT
Submitted on 14/12/2020 at 17:15
Published on Care Opinion on 15/12/2020 at 09:09


Firstly apologies for the poor experience on signage and the TV System, I can assure you that your concerns are being addressed. The issues both stem from the need to open the wards in question ahead of schedule to meet the urgent need for increased bed capacity within the Hospital.

The new entrance has provided an opportunity to complete and enhance wayfinding in the North Wing building. This includes the provision of passenger lifts to move and direct people to the new ward areas. Unfortunately, due to the covid pandemic, the new wards (Wards 21, 23 and 25) had to be fast tracked and opened prior to the new main entrance becoming operational. The original intention was that the entrance and wards would open at the same time. This meant that the planned wayfinding routes could not be established and a lot of the signage was not complete. Temporary signage was in place to redirect people to the appropriate area but perhaps more was needed to address the issues you have kindly noted below.

Again, as the wards were fast tracked to provide emergency space, the TV system for the wards was not complete. The building contractor was trying to manage significant delays in the delivery of critical equipment items as factories or other businesses across all industries had closed down. When the equipment started to arrive it was immediately ‘rolled out’, starting with Ward 23, which was the only ward without restricted access due to covid. Getting the TVs operational required input from specialist companies in England. Again, access to this was limited to due travel restrictions and other covid related workforce pressures facing those firms. I sincerely apologise for the flashing lights etc. This is unacceptable in a patient bedroom and unfortunately we were unaware of the issue for a short period. Once it was identified the issue was resolved immediately. Our ICT department are now working on getting the full system installed and operational across all wards. Again, there remains restrictions on certain ward areas due to covid but there has been significant progress. We fully understand the importance of TVs to patients. Of note, these TVs also function as computers for ward staff to access e.g. order blood tests, review images etc. The development of these systems is a core objective for our ICT department.

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Response from Vi Gray, Professional Nursing Support , PCOP, Western Health & Social Care Trust 3 years ago
Vi Gray
Professional Nursing Support , PCOP,
Western Health & Social Care Trust

encourage people to share their experiences of health and social care, what matters to you, what you particularly liked or disliked so that we can share with the relevant department, and staff .

Submitted on 17/12/2020 at 13:28
Published on Care Opinion at 13:28


picture of Vi Gray

Hello B00363052Twinkle

My name is Vi Gray and I work within the WHSCT for Patient & Client Experience.

Thank you for sharing your experience.I had passed this onto the Assistant Nursing Manager for Trauma and Orthopaedics and I can now share her response which she asked me to convey to you

"Thank you very much for taking the time to provide feedback on our service which is very much welcomed by myself and the team.I have shared your very positive comments of your experience with them.

We are very grateful in particular to hear your gratitude around a phone call being made to your mum.This is an aspect of communication that has been challenging during the pandemic but one which we are actively aiming to develope"

I would like to assure you that you will receive responses in relation to the other issues that you have raised by the appropriate staff in due course following their investigations

I wish you well in your recovery

Regards

VI

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