The hospital stories I can remember

So the source of SAE’s pain, well apart from the fact that they took out the  appendix which they said appeared normal from the outside, and they wont know until after the biopsy whether it was abnormal, they had a pretty good look around while doing the scope and said everything else looked fine. So although we aren’t certain the appendix was the cause it appears nothing else was either. And today she says she is not experiencing any pain in the area she had been…so maybe it was, maybe it wasnt.

The Wellington Hospital is an old hospital that is being remodelled and new buildings being constructed. Its a shame however that you strike such a mix of nurses. Some who are just so lovely and others that just dont want to be there.

The A&E is new and it looks clean and fresh, the wards are old and look tired  and dirty…I personally think that the place in which you work has a lot to do with your mood. Grotty means unhappy workers, working in conditions that are not the best…discontent all round, new means better moods and happier staff.

So the nurses at the A&E are lovely…seem happy even when its the middle of the night. The nurses on the ward generally dont seem so happy and generally do their job as required but dont do anything extra. Do we not have enough nurses on wards, there seemed to only be one nurse per room, 2 rooms with 4 beds and 2 rooms with 6 beds.

So generally we had a mixed experience with nurses. There was the bubbly young nurse who was taking around a young enthusuastic student nurse. Willing to help and find out answers. To the night time staff who if you ask them something and its not their room you can forget about getting a positive response from them…take for instances…as I creep out of the ward as SAE falls asleep a new patient into the room calls out to me and says, "could you be so kind and ask a nurse to bring me a bed pan…just when they are ready"…sure no problem…so I bump into a nurse in the corridor….its amazing how some people just do not want to make eye contact!! "excuse me but the lady in that room would like a bed pan when you can" "Thats not my room, such and such is on that room, they are just doing a change over, she’ll attend to it when she is finished"…right…"whats the patients name"…."sorry I dont know I’m with my daughter"…."whats her name"…rustle rustle with the paper like it has just dawned on this woman that its midnight and there appears to be a person who is not a patient wondering around the room…..after all visiting hours were over hours ago….."SAE….she’s waiting for an operation"…."hmmm…well is the bed pan urgent?"…."oh I dont know, its an 83 year old woman who is asking for a bed pan, you tell me!!!!"

And then there is the canadian nurse who says to SAE as she is sitting there waiting for her op, having not eaten for 24 hours, ready to jump ship and get out of there and she says…"are you sure you want to have this operation"…..um excuse me….are you qualified to start making statements like this??? Do you think perhaps your not helping this situation at all??? Get out and get out now you stupid woman!!

Yeah she really helped and then SAE  sees the doctor saying "but I have to go to UNI, I need to be there, do I have to have this operation!!!!"….aaahhh

Then not the nurses but down in the shop where they sell the papers and water and bits and pieces there are these two woman behind the counter making a great effort to ignore me and suceeding extremely well at it who were having this conversation about two people. "yes but he’s left her and therefore shouldn’t asking questions about what she is doing"…."no he should be well out of her life but keeps interferring…I think he still has feelings for her"…..and then the conversation goes on a bit longer and suddenly I realise that they are actually talking about a local soap opera called "Shortland Street" which is a so called drama set around a hospital and the nurses and doctors etc and they were talking about two of the characters on the show!!! Oh good grief!!!

But the doozy of them all was the sweet student nurse who is so keen to learn and help out and soak up all that will be her future job is being taken around by the head nurse who is teaching her what to do with a new patient on the wall. There was a series of questions being asked and in the manner the patient answer there is a score at the end that needs to be added together. So the head nurse says "right now add up all the figures"…"oh I will need a calcultor"…."I’m sorry? there is no calculator just add it up you must know how to add?"…."well umm ah…" …."well whats 4×4?"….."ummm 12"…."oh my you are going to have to go back and learn your sums if you want to advance in this career!!!…whats 4 plus 4?"….  "8"…. "plus 4"…."12"…..plus 4…….."16"……."plus 3"……"19"……."plus 3"……."21"……..NO!!….22…………………….."oh your kidding!!!!!" and that lady and gentlemen is our future nurses….having to use calculators before they can administer drugs!!!!!!

Am I being harsh in my assesment of hospitals and nurses…I dont think so…I have been far from impressed on the level of customer service…..care and attention and its just as well that I am an old hand in dealing with hospitals with SAE having had a month long stay when she was 5 from her dog attack and reconstruction of her ear…..and frankly I’m glad that I pay for private care!!!