Today I went for my fortnightly humira injection FIND OUT WHAT HUMIRA IS HERE!
I have this as part of my crohns treatment at the local hospital in the Planned Investigation Unit there, I've been going for 2 years now so am really friendly with the nurses and we are both sick of seeing each other! The treatment has been a godsend which I am entirely grateful for and never take for granted. My wellbeing and quality of life has increased tenfold since starting it.
Today I turned up to the ward to see a sign saying the PIU had moved to the endoscopy unit. In previous weeks they have moved it about the hospital for different reasons so I trudged up the stairs expecting to see all the same friendly faces and have my jab and run home in time for the football. Upon arriving I was completely bemused. I saw 2 staff nurses and 2 HCA's (health care assistants) running around like mad women and they told me to take a seat and they would see me soon. I sat in the endoscopy recovery section where once endoscopy patients come around they sit before their discharged. There was me and other PIU patients, some of whom were connected to drips, sat about. After an hour one of the staff nurses told me they would do my jab. She put me in a room about 2 foot by 3 which hardly constituted being called a consultation room. She was sharing this with the diabetes nurse and after ten minutes of waiting in there, she called me out again as the diabetes nurse needed to use it. She put me on a bed in the corner of the endoscopy recovery room where the others were sat and pulled a curtain around me. There were patients notes dotted around the floor, confidential information for all to see and hardly any privacy so we all basically knew what each other was having done.
When they had the jab and medication card and both staff nurses came to me I asked what was going on. Apparently at the beginning of the week they had been informed the PIU unit was to shut to save money from the budget the trust owed. The ward manager and other staff nurses had been designated other jobs within the hospital and all the PIU patients were now to be seen in this area of the endoscopy suite > no private cubicles or beds > and the 2 staff nurses and 2 HCA's were in charge of all patients from what is a busy, busy ward at the best of times. They looked totally in shock, in disarray and stressed at the task before them. How the hell is that meant to be best clinical practice for patients within the NHS? I know they are hugely in debt but to put at risk patients by overworking staff, in an unhygienic environment with no organisation is totally irresponsible. The nurses hadn't had any dinner, had more and more patients coming through the door and were struggling to keep their head above the water so to speak. They did my jab and told me that next time I had to go they would probably still be there. One of the nurses said she had woken up dreading the day before her.
This really upset me for many reasons. These are hardworking, professional nurses who are being pissed about by management. Patient's now have no privacy or confidentiality. No beds to lie in. No quality of care only what the overworked nurses can summon between running around like headless chickens. I felt so sorry for them. I don't know whether to complain about what I saw and if it would make any difference? It seems its only going to get worse too. There are daily newsreports in the local papers more jobs are to be cut in our area. I can't help but worry about whats going to happen next.
I have this as part of my crohns treatment at the local hospital in the Planned Investigation Unit there, I've been going for 2 years now so am really friendly with the nurses and we are both sick of seeing each other! The treatment has been a godsend which I am entirely grateful for and never take for granted. My wellbeing and quality of life has increased tenfold since starting it.
Today I turned up to the ward to see a sign saying the PIU had moved to the endoscopy unit. In previous weeks they have moved it about the hospital for different reasons so I trudged up the stairs expecting to see all the same friendly faces and have my jab and run home in time for the football. Upon arriving I was completely bemused. I saw 2 staff nurses and 2 HCA's (health care assistants) running around like mad women and they told me to take a seat and they would see me soon. I sat in the endoscopy recovery section where once endoscopy patients come around they sit before their discharged. There was me and other PIU patients, some of whom were connected to drips, sat about. After an hour one of the staff nurses told me they would do my jab. She put me in a room about 2 foot by 3 which hardly constituted being called a consultation room. She was sharing this with the diabetes nurse and after ten minutes of waiting in there, she called me out again as the diabetes nurse needed to use it. She put me on a bed in the corner of the endoscopy recovery room where the others were sat and pulled a curtain around me. There were patients notes dotted around the floor, confidential information for all to see and hardly any privacy so we all basically knew what each other was having done.
When they had the jab and medication card and both staff nurses came to me I asked what was going on. Apparently at the beginning of the week they had been informed the PIU unit was to shut to save money from the budget the trust owed. The ward manager and other staff nurses had been designated other jobs within the hospital and all the PIU patients were now to be seen in this area of the endoscopy suite > no private cubicles or beds > and the 2 staff nurses and 2 HCA's were in charge of all patients from what is a busy, busy ward at the best of times. They looked totally in shock, in disarray and stressed at the task before them. How the hell is that meant to be best clinical practice for patients within the NHS? I know they are hugely in debt but to put at risk patients by overworking staff, in an unhygienic environment with no organisation is totally irresponsible. The nurses hadn't had any dinner, had more and more patients coming through the door and were struggling to keep their head above the water so to speak. They did my jab and told me that next time I had to go they would probably still be there. One of the nurses said she had woken up dreading the day before her.
This really upset me for many reasons. These are hardworking, professional nurses who are being pissed about by management. Patient's now have no privacy or confidentiality. No beds to lie in. No quality of care only what the overworked nurses can summon between running around like headless chickens. I felt so sorry for them. I don't know whether to complain about what I saw and if it would make any difference? It seems its only going to get worse too. There are daily newsreports in the local papers more jobs are to be cut in our area. I can't help but worry about whats going to happen next.
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