"Lack of service and hygiene at Wagga Base Hospital"

I recently spent a few days in the Wagga Base Hospital and I could not believe that this once proud hospital had deteriorated to such a state. From what I saw the ER was just a shambles with what seemed to me like a lack of space. Some of the nurses looked like robots more intent on their portable computer screens and less focused on comforting and relating to patients. The only relief from ER was a demountable called EMU that takes the overflow from ER which from what I saw was clean but again I experienced no personal care from the nursing staff and it is closed down over the weekend, which I think is a silly arrangement. I eventually went to Ward 3 which was so dirty with cobwebs and dingy rooms not to mention the bathrooms which were in my opinion just deplorable. I only came across one nurse who appeared to show any interest in me and her other patients her name was Sue, who in my opinion showed the qualities of what I believe a caring nurse should have.

The operator of the CT scan was wonderful but it looked like the roof was starting to fall in.

I do not appreciate having to share a bathroom with male patients, surely these should be separate and with the clutter in the shower (which was full of commode chairs) there was no where to place my personal items.

The passage outside my room was also full of wheel chairs and walkers and the passage was cluttered with many trolleys leaving only one lane.

As far as hygiene is concerned, what I saw was terrible. I watched 2 nurses change the other bed in my room without disinfecting the mattress and the cleaners did not seem to show any real care in their work, it looked very slap-dash to me. Don't even mention the meals - they are apparently cooked and frozen in Sydney and then transported to WWBH, but when I lifted the lid I gagged so I lived on toast (made by myself) as the meals I received were in my opinion so terrible. Not even toast at breakfast only bread. How do you scramble eggs in Sydney and warm them up in Wagga only to be presented with a grey blob?

To me it appeared that all of the staff were dressed the same -I couldn't tell the difference between a wards man and a nurse.

Even though I feel the conditions in this aging hospital are so terrible I do not think the quality of nursing should drop - like the nurse who gave me my dinner time medication at 9pm and all she said was that she forgot about me. I was also told by another nurse, who came in at the same time, that I was being moved to another ward, I was not happy but started to gather my things when I heard another voice tell that nurse that they would find someone else. I also didn't like being a couple of rooms away from a patient who apparently had a 24 hour watch and an old gentleman, who appeared to suffer from Alzheimer’s, yelling all day and night. I'm all for the new Mental Health building but what about the other patients? I don't think this hospital can last another 5 or more years until another one is built.

Yes I was sick but expected better from this hospital. The hygiene alone was a worry to me and also the lack of genuine care I received from the nursing staff. I could not wait to get out of the place and get home to have a shower in clean conditions and a proper meal.