"Partner's admission"

My partner was admitted to hospital in via the ED after sudden onset of severe back and groin pain. Suffering from confirmed rhinovirus at the same time was admitted to the general ward and eventually moved to a single room with droplet precautions. They experienced a fall in ED and signs were put up immediately to alert staff of their falls risk. 

Issues: No fall risks alert present when admitted to the General Ward. Droplet precaution signs placed outside room. I noticed few people abided by the precautions. Kitchen staff came in unmasked and placed and removed food and dishes from the room without gloves and/or hand hygiene. Rarely did I see anyone use hand hygiene on entering the room or before touching the patient and or surrounds. During my partner's stay, the only people that fully abided by the droplet precaution warning were the Physiotherapists who were the shining light for the unpleasant stay.  

Cardboard urinals only used during the night, were still left sitting in the holders at midday, sometimes leaking on the floor through the cardboard. There was no linen changes during my partner's 7-day stay. My partner was never offered a shower in the first 3 days or assistance to shower themselves on a shower chair.

Junior doctors were not supervised/mentored and partner was rarely consulted by a senior doctor. Information given by junior doctors was not convincing and not helpful in terms of arranging specialist follow up. My partner was being left to follow up with their own GP to arrange an MRI. On my partner's discharge, after previously being denied a referral to a private specialist (neurosurgery), the required referral was given with the discharge summary. The expectation of a patient needing to follow up with a GP for referrals at extra cost outside the admission is not acceptable in my opinion, particularly during a time when appointments are few and wait times long. 

The OT and Physiotherapy services have been exemplary, and this includes outpatient services at home. It's amazing that it took a Physiotherapist after discharge, seven days from admission, five minutes to explain (with a copy of the CT picture) exactly what was causing my partner's pain and loss of sensation in their back and right leg. We were left wondering by the doctors.

Lastly, to overcome the pain, my partner was placed on S8 medication. The charted aperients to assist with the side-effects, were grossly inadequate and additional aperients had to be requested every day.

Although some new medication was dispensed for discharge, no aperients were provided, to treat the constipation caused by the hospital.

I would suggest the hospital and the general ward has a lot to do before their next accreditation, in terms of patient care.

Well done to Broome Physiotherapy Services and OT. Shame about the rest of the experience.