"No nursing care and poor conditions of bathroom facilities"

I had a very bad experience when, via ED, I was admitted Christmas week as a public patient. Some of my friends have had the same bad experience at JHC. In my opinion, the nursing care is now non-existent it makes my last stay seem like hospital paradise. That time I reported 11 complaints and received an apology for everyone. I was a patient for 4.5 days and at no time did I get my bed made/tidied. One day I was making it comfortable while a nurse was attending the patient in the next bed. They left the ward and never offered to come back and help me. In those 4 days, I was never offered clean towels or help to shower. I had one shower when my visitor offered to help me. In my opinion, the only task they excelled at was answering the bell and dishing out the medication.

In this COVID era when hygiene is all important I could not believe the germ breeding environment of the bathroom facility. I have pictures. The paint, I felt, had about 15cms open crack on the wall facing the toilet. The lid of the cistern was cracked and either side of the toilet at skirting board level there was bad broken patches of paint. In the ward, the bedside chair had broken vinyl on each arm exposing what looked like wood shavings. Breeding ground for viruses and other germs in my opinion.

I believe JHC is a private hospital with public and private hospitals under one administration. In this time of the pandemic, the existing facilities should, in my opinion, be brought up to handling the pandemic situation we now find ourselves in.

The treatment I received in ED was excellent but there was no nursing care in C2 ward. I believe someone needs to look into this situation and rectify it. I feel gone are the days of matron ruling her staff with an iron rod and caring for her patients' well-being. I believe nursing care cannot be learnt in the lecture theatre of a University. In my opinion, it would appear the nursing is no longer a caring profession but a job to pay the bills.

Finally, I did speak to the nurse coordinator of the ward. I felt their mouth dropped open re my nursing care comments. Their comment was the paperwork is overwhelming. They had no comment on the germ breeding condition of the bathroom and furniture. I think the time has come for a Royal Commission to look into the Ramsey Health Care Business.