Let me preface by saying I've normally had good experiences with healthcare in this country. This is a minor rant mostly out of pure frustration at not being able to do anything but here goes:
My dad got diagnosed with colon cancer about a month ago, grim prognosis unfortunately (do your screenings chaps, if you wait until symptoms appear it's usually too late to cure). However everything was moving forward swiftly with regards to getting treatment started, so far so good - or as good as can be in this situation. Before starting treatment he had to have a stoma fitted, which he was absolutely dreading. This is where the problems begin. From what I can tell many of the nurses on the ward he's on are borderline negligent in everything they do. A few examples:
- Told him he could eat whatever he wanted the day following the op, a cursory google shows this to be a terrible idea. How can a nurse not know this? This has resulted in horrendous 10/10 pain (he told me if he'd had a gun he would've shot himself)
- He had to have a catheter post op, no doctors were available so the night nurse did it. She was visibly ****** off at having to do this. Apparently they're supposed to use some sort of numbing gel/lube stuff. They did not, with predictable outcome
- He was supposed to have a morphine pump (anaesthetist said he'd be hooked up upon waking). He did not get a morphine pump or anything except paracetamol for quite some time
- One night he was forced to press the help buzzer thing due to the extreme pain (again, no meds). The night nurse came in, replied 'oh' when he told her and walked off. He then waited 2 hours for pain medication to be supplied (after complaining again)
- Eventually a doctor appeared and immediately put him on morphine every 4 hours. This literally never happens on schedule, it will often be 2-3 hours late even after he's prompted them several times
- The stoma has not been working at all 6 days post op. We've been constantly questioning the nurses about this (along with the pain, growing nausea...again a quick google shows this is alarming) and mostly been totally ignored
- The last couple of days he's been feeling more and more nauseous - again ignored by the nurses (and doctors for that matter). Today he's started violently throwing up green stuff, as if by magic a consultant appears to take it in hand and now finally it seems that it's being taken seriously, think he's going to end up back in emergency surgery
- It's not as if the ward is understaffed. There are 4-5 staff sitting around chatting at the desk every single time I've been there. I saw a guy who was practically crying in agony calling for a nurse. They were all sat in earshot chatting away ignoring him
I get that healthcare professionals are generally treated like **** and overworked but surely this is not normal?