"Hospital for diarrhoea"

I attended the ED Department as I had been experiencing severe diarrhoea over a five-day period. I was seen quite quickly by the Triage nurse. I explained my symptoms and was then given a COVID test and because of that I was asked to wait in the car park inside my car and I would be contacted by the ward clerk.

The ward clerk contacted me by telephone about an hour later and updated my details and asked me to continue to wait in the car and I would be contacted by a nurse when I was ready to be seen. After 45 minutes of waiting, my spouse who was with me attended the front counter to ask them if we were still to wait in the car and that is what we were again instructed to do.

Two hours after the phone call from the ward clerk, and still waiting in the car, we decided we would leave as no one had contacted us. Again my spouse attended the counter where I believe they were told that we had been called but we were not in the waiting room. The explanation given was that there was cross communication as the ward clerks had a shift change. I feel it wasn't cross communication, it was miscommunication and the only people it affected was me and my spouse, no apologies for this error was given.

We were then asked to come into the ED and was seated in cubicle nine. I sat there for 40 minutes before anyone spoke to me or even acknowledged I was there, when a RN came into see me and took my details, I was not even advised where the toilet was in case I needed to use it. It was sometime before I saw a doctor whose plan was to take blood, give fluid and for me to take an outpatient form for a CT scan. I was given my fluid, 1000ml of normal saline, but this was not allowed to finish and was stopped with 250ml remaining in the bag, despite me mentioning that I had consumed little fluids and had constant diarrhoea for the past five days. I was told that this was because it was a busy ward and they needed the room. I felt I was not entitled to what I had been ordered or appropriate health care.

A doctor then removed my cannula which unfortunately bled all over the floor and I was asked to press down on it, which meant my fingers and wrist had blood on it. The doctor cleaned it up, I would suggest not with the integrity of cleaning up a blood spill, I felt it was somewhat lacking. I then had to ask if that was it and was told yes and I had to show myself out. I said to my spouse who collected me I found the whole episode of my attending Northam hospital to be quite bizarre and not what I feel it should have been. I do not write this lightly as, being a Registered Nurse myself, I am aware of the pressures of the job, but I felt this particular health care given was severely lacking. On arriving home my diarrhoea had continued and I had to consume more fluids than I could tolerate. In my opinion, the care given was severely inadequate on this particular occasion.