Shocking nursing staff

Westville Hospital use to be my go to hospital since the 1990’s but after my recent stay there, I will not be returning there, even tho all my Doctors are there.

This was my experience.

I was admitted into hospital on 28th April 2024 with a serious cough that had caused my breathing being diminished to the point that my oxygen level was reduced to 40%.

Admission was a breeze with no issues, except for the pain caused trying to find a vein to insert the drip & take blood.

I was admitted into high care due to my oxygen levels being so low & my cerebral palsy made things tricky as I could not move much, if at all.

That is when my living nightmare started. Even tho I kept informing the nursing staff that I was disabled & my movements was extremely limited, they seemed to get rather upset that I couldn’t move well.

I was assigned a tall bald black male nurse with glasses. At first all seemed well, until I asked for help to eat my lunch as I was very weak. The nurse was not happy to feed me & voiced his opinion by stating if I can hold my phone (which was resting on my leg with my hand on it), then I can feed myself but he still helped me eat in a huff & puff. A while later, I needed the urinal, of which I called the male nurse to bring it but instead, after about 15 minutes, he returned & stated that I must get a catheter as due to the doctors orders. I told him I didn’t want the catheter & that he must fetch the doctor so I can explain that I just needed the urinal. The male nurse left hastily but never returned. After an hour of waiting, I had to call another nurse to help me, as I needed the urinal urgently & the first nurse still hadn’t brought it.

About 10 minutes before change of shift at 6pm, I got extremely thirsty to the point that my mouth was extremely dry, causing me a lot of distress & coughing. I asked my assigned male nurse for some water, at which point he walked away, I presumed to fetch some water but he returned about 10 minutes later with no water but instead with a female nurse that was his shift change & the two started talking of which I knew was information about my case to the shift change. I again, begged for water, to no avail as neither of the two nurses moved, instead continued talking. I begged again a bit louder for water, at which point the male nurse retorted that I must wait because he is talking & it is shift change. I then spoke to the female nurse & asked for a staff nurse or superior, of which she rep**** & stated she was the superior. I informed her that I did not want my current male nurse to overlook my case any further as he had a major attitude problem. At which point the male nurse started shouting at me for everything I was saying & that I was being very ungrateful & inconsiderate. He eventually left still mumbling & I eventually got my life saving water from the female nurse.

I thought my hardships was over for the evening but it continued. The same female nurse had positioned a table & chair between my bed & the bed to my left, so she could monitor both of us. A few times during the night I would ask the nurse for either the urinal or water & although she was at most 2 meters away from me, she did not make an effort to move or listen to me, even tho I would call for her at around 5 – 10 minute intervals. At one point I was so desperate for the urinal that I called to a passing nurse for help & as she made her way towards me to help, the so called superior nurse who was sitting 2 meters from me, said something to the passing nurse who was coming to help, at which point she turned & walked away. I eventually got the urinal from the superior but I had to ask her for a few more minutes before she helped.

A while later, in the middle of the night, that same superior nurse approached my bed & instead of asking if the oxygen mask was sitting properly on me, or if I was ok, no, she asked me to breathe more quietly as my lack of oxygen was causing my breathing to be heavy, causing a whining sound with every breath & she said that the sound was bothering staff & other patients.

In the morning I was assigned a new male nurse named Kaya. He was the complete opposite of the first male nurse. The amount of care & help I received from Kaya was astounding. The amount of care he put in helping me made me feel safe. He was always checking the oxygen mask every couple of minutes, as well as checking on me & he would help me eat without even asking if I needed help. I am very grateful to Kaya for looking after me. The evening male nurse was just as good as Kaya. Both of those male nurses should be used as a role model to all nursing staff.

I was eventually sent to B ward room 11 on 30th April 2024. I was happy to be out of high care & in a ward where I recognized some of the staff from my previous hospitalization in 2023. Mainly a male nurse by the name of Ayanda, who saved my life a few times in 2023 with water, so once again, another great caring male nurse.

The room I was placed in had an extremely very loud extractor fan & as I am deaf in my right ear, it meant my good left ear was facing the fan & it was extremely deafening to me. I asked to close the air vents or turn the sound down & I was told nobody knew how to do it but they will check. At the same time, I needed the urinal but none of the staff had bothered to make sure the nurse call was within my reach, so I had to call a nurse that was outside my door by the linen door. She came closer to hear what I was asking for & she said she would be right back. 30 Minutes later, still no bottle & I saw the same nurse that said will be right back, she came out of the adjacent room chatting with other staff. I eventually had to ask another nurse who had come in at shift change to check on me, for help. She made sure the nurse call was within my reach. I also asked her to please quieten the extractor fan & she said she would try find somebody. I was also a little bit amazed at how she emptied & cleaned the urinal in the sink in the room.

A while later. I needed help with the toilet facilities & the night staff were not very happy that I could not go to the toilet & that they would have to help me with the bedpan. When they finished helping me, they left the nurse call well out of my reach & left the used urinal on the trolley within my reach if I needed it again.

Still nobody had sorted out the extractor fan, causing me not to be able to sleep the entire night, made worse by me having to shout & scream for help, to which no staff came. At 4am when the staff arrived for the bed bath, the noise in the room by the extractor fan was so deafening, which bothered the staff & within minutes they got somebody to quieten it down. Which completely made me angry because I had been asking since 5.30pm the night before & nobody did nothing but now because it was annoying the staff in the room, it was quietened.

After the bed bath, the tow nurses wanted to put on a surgical gown. I informed them that I was going to be discharged that day & that I wanted to put on my clothes in my bag. They helped me put on a shirt but point blank refused to put on a pair of trunks/shorts. I asked more than once saying that I was going to have a visitor, the Doctor & being discharged later & that I do not want to be naked. That is when the nurse stated to me that my care & comfort are not important, only what is easier & easy for staff. That made me extremely mad because in all the 48 years of my medical history & the numerous hospitals I have been in, I have never heard that being said to me. My trunks were still not put on.

When the doctor finally arrived, I filled him in on what the nurse said to me & I informed him that I will not spend another night in this badly run hospital. I was finally discharged at around 2pm, 1st May 2024, 2 days before my 50th birthday & with any luck, I will never have to see Westville hospital ever again. And I will definitely share my experience as nobody has contacted me about my experience or to even apologize.

I trusted Westville hospital to help me get better, instead I was discriminated against by poorly trained nursing staff due to my disability, made to suffer potential urinary infection, made to suffer dehydration, made to suffer a sleepless night due to a fan which staff refused to quieten & suffer the humiliation of being naked when visitors & doctor arrived because getting dressed was not easy for staff.