The bad side of the NHS

I've seen the whole 'we love the NHS' debate going on, and while I'd love to agree, my personal experience, and that of my elderly relatives hasn't been the happiest.

In my case, I was treated to the most horrible 'care' by the nurses in the ward where I had an operation. Ignored, treated like an idiot...given no information and regarded as a fool when I asked how to care for myself re dressing changes etc. I wasn't even told what operation I was having and what would actually be done during the op - they'd run out of leaflets when I went for the pre-op, and nobody bothered to speak to me about what was going on when I arrived on the ward. As I was in on a cancellation I felt I was lucky to get the op so soon, but on researching how I was meant to be caring for myself afterwards I found out that the op I had was meant to be incredibly painful to recover from (luckily mine wasn't), and required weeks off work....when I'd asked, I was told the op was on Friday, and I'd be back in work on Monday (not true). When going to the theatre, I got told off for having nail varnish on my finger nails...well, since I'd been given no pre op information, how was I meant to know I wasn't supposed to have any on? I was made to feel like I was an idiot for not complying with their instructions...that they'd not given me.
After the op, the nurses didn't pass on messages from my friend saying she was on her way to pick me up, so I had no idea when she was arriving, or even if she was coming at all or if I'd have to stay in. The nurse arrived to discharge me, but wouldn't help me close the curtains around my bed so I could get dressed (hours after a general anaesthetic when I was still weak), and was so rude and abrupt when I was asking about aftercare that I was almost in tears with relief when my friend collected me.
I was given the Drs copy of the op information form (in my envelope, and my copy was in the Drs envelope), and the Dr was meant to be given that form by me...so, after this op, I was then meant to go to my Drs surgery just to hand in this letter? Needless to say, as I've not been back to the Dr since, it's still sitting in my bedside drawer.
I was given no contact details of anyone to call if I had any problems, no idea of how long I would take to heal, what I could and couldn't do, I had to ask how often I was allowed to take the painkillers. I was left to look things up on the internet (never a happy plan with medical issues), and trying to figure out if things were healing correctly.
Basically, I felt the whole experience to be humiliating, and will NEVER go back to St. Johns Hospital again. I was going to write a letter of complaint but I was just so glad to not have to deal with those people again that I left it. My friend was shocked too - she'd witnessed my treatment on arrival, and how upset I was when she collected me, and was furious on my behalf, but I didn't want her to fight on my behalf, she had enough problems of her own.
That was my one personal experience with an NHS hospital, and it certainly doesn't make me want to jump up and down with delight.

So, that was me...I'm a young (ish), fit, healthy woman, able to look after myself. My Gran and my Aunt M however, are different matters. They've had such bad treatment that my family refuse to let them go into one specific hospital (Monklands), in the sure knowledge that if they go in there, they'll come out in a coffin. In the end, Gran went to Wishaw General, where she died....with dignity. This story on the BBC reminded me of some of the reasons why we won't ever let them go back there.

Aunt M is 102. About 4 years ago, she developed a swallowing problem. She was taken in to Monklands as they needed to check her fluid intake, and investigate the source of her swallowing problems. Well, in the end, nobody wanted to bother finding out what was wrong with her, they just stuck her on a drip instead - to measure her fluid intake. She also was unable to walk (due to a recent fall shaking her confidence) without her walker. So, a 98 year old woman, without her walker so unable to walk, with a swallowing and fluid intake problem. When we visited one afternoon (Gran was also in need of 24 hour care, so we couldn't spend all day with her), I put my hand on the bed, and realised it was soaking. It was all the drip fluid, that hadn't been properly attached, and had been seeping into her bed and clothes since it had been set up that morning. Without anyone checking it. So she'd spent at least 6 hours in a wet bed and clothes. When we informed the nurses, they breezed in and started stripping the bed and her, with the curtains open - we closed them to give her some privacy. Erm...dignity!??! So - the purpose of her being in there was to rehydrate her, yet they now had no idea what her fluid intake was. The nurses never had any idea what was being done for her medically when we asked them - there was no continuity, and the staff had obviously never looked at her notes before we asked them anything. She had been in for 4 days, and her false teeth had been in her mouth for 4 days, uncleaned before we realised from the smell, as it was beyond the nurses to help her put them in cleaning fluid. The swallowing problem was not investigated, but despite that she was informed that the nurses couldn't help her to eat. So, she was getting no fluids, and no food. No food for 4 days. And she was told off if her call button was too far from her hand, but if she called for help, she was ignored. She would have to cross the entire width of the ward to get to the bathroom, half of it with nothing to hold on to / across a doorway, but the nurses told her off if she called for help. They wouldn't discharge her until they knew how much fluid she'd taken in, but they were too incompetent to set up a drip that worked to rehydrate her instead of soak her bed. Aunt M, a tough, independent woman who'd lived in her own flat and shopped every day until she was 95/96, travelled Europe independantly as a young woman, and is smarter and more on the ball than half the people I know, was reduced by the nursing 'care' to a scared old woman. She begged us not to make a fuss with the nurses as they'd take it out on her, she was terrified of them, and that was so upsetting to see. The manager of the care home she lived in was also visiting that afternoon, and agreed that she had to be taken out of there before they killed her. As she wasn't a direct relative, we had to get her cousin over (a similar age to her, so not an easy trip), who then had her discharged back to the care home, where she quickly recovered, as she was given help with eating, and some human dignity and respect. If she'd stayed in, we know she'd have died - she was so scared of the staff, and weak from lack of food and fluids. And that was how she was treated when she had family and friends to help...what about those elderly that don't have someone to represent them?

Gran of course went in to Monklands one time for a urinary infection...and came out with MRSA. Which the hospital didn't inform her Dr of. Which meant the Dr sent a pregnant phlebotomist to take her blood samples. And pregnant women should NOT be around those with MRSA, as it can cause birth defects. So that poor woman then spent the remaining months of her pregnancy terrified that she'd harmed her baby. Nice work Monklands. And Gran was subject to the same 'care' that Aunt Madge received too, but as she was a direct relative, it was easier for us to get her discharged out of there faster, and my Mum and Aunt J could sit with her in shifts and make sure she was getting proper attention.

So yes, that's why I can't join in with the NHS flag waving. Technically, it's a good system. Personally, I think me and my family have experienced more than our fair share of horrible service, especially for the elderly members And it makes me worry about when something happens to my parents...it seems the older you are, the less care you receive, unless you have a family to stay there with you 24 hours a day and represent you, and I couldn't do that for my parents.