Various comments
I was a patient in Heartlands on a number of occasions for different reasons, my comments cover all of these. I attended Ward 19 Day Unit as a chemotherapy patient on many occasions over a lengthy period. I was impressed by the performance of all the staff, they were highly professional and helpful. It’s a pity that the conditions in which they were working did not live up to the standard of the staff. I also attended Heartland for surgery after which I was in Ward 12 for recovery. During the pre-op assessment I made the point that I suffered from coeliac disease and therefore needed a gluten-free diet. On the ward I found that the message had not been passed on and that the staff did not seem to understand the requirement, one nurse seemed to think that a gluten-free diet meant that I couldn’t eat eggs or cheese! Getting appropriate food on ward became difficult - to get breakfast they had to send out for a gluten-free loaf in order to make me some toast. The last thing I expected in hospital was that the needs of a coeliac disease sufferer were not understood and that there was no apparent provision to cater for this condition. Other than this I found the standard of care to be very good indeed. A more general comment covering just about all departments concerns a lack of information. On several occasions I was moved between units after having some treatment, often I was simply left having been delivered not knowing what was to happen next or for how long I was to be there. Sometimes I started to wonder if I had been forgotten when nothing happened for a lengthy period. It would ease matters if, prior to being left, a few words about the next stage and how long you were likely to be waiting were provided. A similar comment can be made about attending for some appointments. On one occasion I had an appointment in the MIDRU which was delayed by about 90 minutes. I do understand that there can be emergencies causing this sort of situation so have no complaints about the delay itself. Waiting to hear the results of tests and what the implications of these might be, though, is quite stressful. After such a lengthy time you start to wonder if something has gone wrong, such as your details had been entered incorrectly so no one knew that you were there or that you had failed to hear your name being called out. Being kept informed about the situation would significantly ease the stress level. In all of these cases it only needs a few words to make all the difference.