I was a little ill for a week or so and ended up in minor injuries at BRH last Sunday to get looked at after spending 3 days on the toilet passing green yukky liquid stuff and having temps of 39.4 C. The place is a complete mess. You could not move for people blocking the toilets for my 1/2 hourly visits and all the sick people herded together in a tiny waiting room. I know its was only temporary 3 years ago but its still not good enough. They should have built the required buildings then restructured not used a shed that is that cold in winter they close it at night and use A&E for minor injuries.
After feeling like I was going to pass out sat in a chair Rhonda had me moved to a cubicle to lie down. Eventually I was seen by a GP who at first appeared ok and decided I had food poisoning (Jokes about Rhonda's cooking are not needed as I was eating rubbish ready meals while working nights
). As soon as the GP suggested I should be drinking fresh orange and cups of tea Rhonda said she wanted me admitting for observation. He agreed and they put me back in a cubicle and after a while a nurse screwed up stabbing me to put me on fluids (being a bit unfair as I was dehydrated and my veins were playing hiding games). A nice doc came who looked and sounded like the Count of Sesame Street and stabbed me painlessly first time.
I was led in minor injuries for about 2 hours until a bed was available on MAU. The moved me but when we arrived at MAU only one of the two double doors would open. They had just stuck me in a wheel chair to move me when someone pressed the emergency open button and it worked.
The nurse and porter from minor injuries took me to a room but no MAU nurse came for about 30 minutes. The room was far from clean with a big puddle of water on the floor, a lump of toothpaste in the sink and the bin in the bathroom was half full of wet hand towels.
The nurse checked my obs and left me a chart to fill in when I went to the toilet. A Doctor came and decided to give me anothe litre of fluid when the first bag was empty and then get me up for a walk about and see how I was before deciding if he would send me home or not.
Rhonda left to sort out our children. The first bag ran out and was not changed for well over an hour. Being in my own room was like being in the land that nurses forgot. She came back and put me on my fluids and an infusion machine. I asked for a blanket as I was cold which never came. The bag ran out and was changed when the machine bleeped for ages.
Another nurse looked through the door and this one brought me a blanket when I asked her.
The next bag ran out and the machine had been bleeping for that long I pressed the nurse call button which I had to drag off its clip by the wire because no one had given it to me. I did not feel like kneeling on the bed to reach it, dragging myself and that machine to the toilet was about all I could manage still.
Another nurse came, night shift I assume, and took me off the machine and switched its headache annoying beeping off. She was not as pleasant as the other one but felt to ill to tell her so. She then told me I was being discharged and could I arrange a lift home. The last 3 entries on my toilet chart showed I had been going every 15 minutes.
I said I did not want to go but phoned Rhonda to get me anyway. At least I knew I would be in safe hands in our bed with Rhonda looking after me. SHe had been awake most of the previous night with me and I was hoping she would get some rest while I was in hospital for the night - do they have targets on overnight stays I wonder?
The fluids helped and I started feeling better a few days later. Still weak and a bit more useless than usual but I decided yesterday that I was starting to eat normally to build up my strength for work next week and if my body does not like its just tough.
Sorry for the long boring drivel post but that my resent hospital experience.