General Chat

and more words that I can as yet, not think of.
Over night I spent some hours in our local A&E, and received the best treatment possible as I usually do. But this is not about me. At one time I was wheeled into RECUSS, to have some lines put in for fluids and loss of potassium. It was a small area with about five beds in, with one being curtained off. As I lay there, I could hear a female behind the curtains in absolute agony. When my nurse came back I asked if the woman was having a miscarriage, and the answer was yes. I could not believe this poor woman was having to go through this ordel behind a curtain.
This a brand new super dooper, multi million pound, no expense spared, state of the art hospital. Why they could not have incorporated a special built room for this lady, and anyone else in this position I will never be able to comprehend. I bet there was not a woman on the architectural design team, who has been through anthing like this experience. It was just like thos poor woman was going through this ordeal in a tent on the car park. My heart goes out to her and her family
Julia in Derbyshire

Julia that is a flamin disgrace. That poor lady deserved some privacy, care and dignity at such an awful time for her.

Hope you are feelin better today:)

Thats worse than the third world ........

Sorry but I would take this matter to the hospital in writting and see what is said .....what if YOU had been a male !!??


Prehaps you are !!

Whirley I'm fine now thanks

Kemp, no I am not a male, but I know what you mean

Julia in Derbyshire

I'll agree with Cassandra on this one. She would have been in rescus because there was nowhere else to put her at the time. I'm sure the nurses hated it too.

If more people would take responsibility for themselves instead of drinking themselves into a stupor as quickly as possible, the poor woman would probably have had somewhere more private.

No amount of architectural planning can predict excessively busy weekends in A&E departments...no matter how they try.

Whilst I do agree with you all about recources, I just felt so sorry for her. I did, many yers ago have two of these at home, and told by my doctor of the time to just save it all in a bucket and he would fetch it., which was not very nice, but what happened in that day
Having spent many hours at night in this particular A & E and the it's predecessor, I too have seen the wastage of resources for the reasons as previously mentioned. I have to say, I have had the best treatment possible, and at the old hospital also
Julia in Derbyshire

To be honest the way my daughter was treated when she lost her baby last year nothing surprises me with the NHS anymore. Its not only the lack of resorces in all cases its the lack of compassion and the attitude of they have seen this many times before so just run of the mill, its not run of the mill for the women who lose their children and their partners or family members who have to see them go through this all on public view to add humiliation to their distress.

I know Cassandra I have to say the nurses were very good it was the DR's who were at fault in my daughters case with the terrible judgements they made my daughter is still recieving treatment for their neglect at the time.

julia thats awfull.ive had 2 miscarriages and i know how bad it was .i ended up in queens med and had my hubby there and a nurse.i was fortunate .poor woman.
hope your feeling better.xx

OMG The poor woman!
How degrading, that in the 21st century, any woman going through such a terrible ordeal, should be treated like some 'unfortunate' from the Victorian times, and humiliated.

If I was her, her family, or you, I would have to report this to my local health authority, and my MP.
This kind of thing has to be brought to their attention, so no-one else has to suffer the same humiliation.

This entire fiasco is a disgrace. The people to blame are the current govenment, starting with Bliar and continuing with Brown.

They have pumped billions and billions of our hard earned money into creating a beurocratic target driven leviathon which cares less on caring for its patients than meeting its pathetic targets.

Do any of you actually realize aht the NHS costs us every year?

I'll start at £1,000 per person, (There are around 60 million of us, so that is around £60billion a year)

Higher or lower?

I would just like to add, I have worked in a small cottage hospital for 25 yrs. Last year we had a brand spanking new one to be opened by Princess Anne later this year. I work in x-ray, and in our department the temp is 91 degrees!! The air conditioning has never worked from day one. The builder didn't put the necessary control panel in, and now won't fix it (out of warranty!). The cold water drinks machine similarly didn't work. Now I find out that they are going to spend £28,000 (yes, £28,000) on a remote control lawn mower, because of the steep banks of grass, and the fact that the gardeners say it is too dangerous, which is fair enough, but most competant (and sensible) gardeners would use a flymo on the end of a rope !! It's not the money that'sat fault, it's the @*%&$*£ people who are spending it on nonsensicle and useless crap! Unfortunately, the NHS is the only industry/body who will spend £10 to save £5. They've always done it, and will never change.

Have a look at Take a Break magazine this week, there is an article about nursing and many letters quoting similar appalling treatment of patients. It isn't knocking all nurses tho.
It scares the pants off me that one day I might end up in hospital, even our super state of the art 'new' hospital on the outskirts of Norwich, private finance built it, and rented it back to health authorities, it wasn't big enough from day one!

Lizx

I feel for that poor woman, at our old hospital 25 years ago when I was in premature labour with my daughter I was at least taken off to a side ward somewhere.

It's sad to say that it's not unuusual for awoman who is experiencing a miscarriage to be moved around from bed to bed.......and treated like she's merely an inconvenience.

When I had my first miscarriage back in 1997 I was put next door to women who had just had babies........could hear them crying ........which made me cry all the more.

In fact I cried so much I gave myself a migraine ....yet the nurses would not allow me to have paracetamol......apparently because of the op I had already been waiting 14 hrs for. Nil by mouth and all that.

In the end my husband said the magic words *we are going private*......Himself and my dad were so distressed they couldn't bear to see the state I was in anymore and worked out the finances between them..........

Low and behold as soon as those magic words were uttered....... a paracetamol appeared ........DESPITE the impending op and I was whipped down to the operating theatre which had apparently been chock a block busy 10 mins before but dirty money made it empty.......within minutes.

Every experience of miscarriage I've had since I could tell you similar tales. That one just stands out because it was the first one.........as time went on I got less outwardly emotional.

I DID try to complain at the time but every letter or reply back from the MP/ hospital trust.......whoever just took me back there again and I didn't have the emotional strength to deal with it.

It's a disgrace the way women are treated at such an agonising time.

The sooner attitudes change the better imho xx

I had my 1st miscarriage sitting in the corridor of the hospital...I had been there for hours...the nurses were unemotional to me and just asked for what I had miscarried..(my baby).. so the path lab could look at it.
They examined me and told me to go home and wait about 3 months to try again. The 2nd time I miscarried my doctor said she was sending me to hospital. I said no way after the last time, she asked what I meant and began writing a note to the hospital. When I arrived i was given a private room but told not to get into bed and that I wouldn't be given a scan till monday..as it was friday the lass who did them had gone home.
I said I would come back on the monday.

I know nurses have a tough job but when my gran was in hospital, everytime i visited and tried to ask them how she was I felt I was interupting their chat time...they were always gathered around the nurses station. The same thing when my mam was in hospital...(different hospital)... but it seemed an inconvenience to them when I or any of my family wanted to know how our mam was...same with a few doctors who wouldn't even acknowledge you when you were in front of them.

Strange thing was it was the foreign nurses who would come and help her or us..even if we couldn't understand their pigeon English.

I am sure there a a good many nurses left who really care for their patients but I only saw 1 or 2 when I was at 2 different hospitals visiting my gran and my mam. Both now sadly not here with me anymore.

I just wanted to say I think it's disgusting that the nurse told you that this lady was having a miscarriage. The way she was treat & the fact she was suffering is bad enough but for her to be discussed with another patient is deplorable! What about her privacy!!