I am lucky enough to have only been admitted to hospital for the births of my daughters. I have not experienced any other type of care while living in the UK. However, my eldest daughter was admitted to hospital for 5 days following an asthma attack. Combining these 3 experiences I have summarised what our care in the UK has been like.
Having good patient care is so important, whether it is through pregnancy or through any other type of experience like my daughter’s asthma attack. Being under care you are in a vulnerable position and the only thing you want is experienced people around you who know what to do. Being treated well gives you the assurance that everything is going to be okay. This is so important.
Poor care as a hospital inpatient can directly lead to medical negligence. Patient care ensures that the basic needs required for healing are met and also that patients are treated with dignity, and that their experience of the hospital does not add to the potential trauma of their illness. Medical negligence can not only lead to further physical injury but also contribute to developing things such as mental health issues such as PTSD or anxiety. Poor care can also slow the healing process; potentially resulting in a delayed return to employment and possible loss of earnings.
The NHS surveys hospital inpatients annually to determine ‘trust scores’ with their national patient survey programme. These are average scores out of 100. The scores are given across five categories: 1. Access & waiting; 2. Safe, high quality, coordinated; 3. Better information, more choice; 4. Building closer relationships; and 5. Clean, friendly, comfortable places to be. From these, ‘safe, high quality, coordinated care’ received the lowest average score (66.3) out of 100. Whilst all scores have improved consistently over the past few years, ‘safe, high quality, coordinated care’ remains the lowest average score out of all five. Each hospital has its own Trust scores and these are used as recommendations to make improvements.
Poor care, inadequate hospitals, bad attitudes from staff can all be contributing factors to incidents of medical negligence. It affects healing, experience and communication across every area of hospital care. It can have such a profound effect, that it discourages people from seeking further treatment. Your care can be something as basic as access to food and water.
This is so important and is why Your Legal Friend is working on a campaign to make awareness of this so if you are experiencing or have experienced some sort of patient care negligence, it is best to speak up and try to get this compensated. You have up to 3 years to make a claim following any incident where you felt there was patient negligence.
My Family Care Story
1. My birth stories
My birth story for each of my two daughters is completely different. Firstly, I gave birth in different hospitals but the main difference was that the birth of my eldest daughter, Bella ended with an emergency c-section whereas the birth of my youngest, Sienna was a programmed c-section.
Bella’s Birth – I must admit that my first birth experience was a little bit traumatic. This affects your postnatal care because you are so tired after the birth and the healing takes longer, therefore taking care of your newborn is not easy at all.
While I was pregnant with Bella, all my pre-natal appointments were great and I got to see the same midwife at my local GP surgery. This was nice as it made me more comfortable. It made it easier to ask questions and a relationship was established. The only downside was that my midwife wasn’t present on the day of the actual birth.
I was admitted to hospital because I had a “show”. To be honest, I still don’t know what happened. I had a BIG discharge of blood, which was enough that I thought I was losing my baby. Because of this, I was hooked up to machines and closely monitored from the moment I arrived at the hospital. This also meant I wasn’t able to walk around. Looking back I guess this was a sign that it might not be a natural birth. The staff tried everything to try to get my baby out naturally but nothing worked. They induced me, they broke my water, etc. Nothing was helping me dilate. I was stuck at 2 cms which was not enough even to get my baby’s head out! My legs and arms, especially my feet and hands were very swollen. I felt so huge. The doctors said that I almost had pre-clampsia so that was scary. I was in so much pain that I asked for an epidural which I thankfully got straight away.
To be fair, my care here was very positive. I just felt I wanted more information sometimes as I was a little bit lost with what was happening and also it was my first time birth so I was nervous and scared all the time. Because of the c-section I got to stay longer at the hospital. I wasn’t very well at the start but Bella was great and discharged before me. I think I was exhausted. They treated me well all the way through. The only thing I hated VERY much was not having Nick with me. I found the nights on my own with my first baby very lonely. I really wanted someone I trusted there with me all the time. This is something that I didn’t like.
My post natal care was good. I was seen several times. Apart from an infection I had on the scar, which was then taken care of, it was all good.
Sienna’s birth – When I gave birth for the second time I was very prepared from day one. I researched and chose a hospital that offered good care and would allow Nick to stay with me. This made a huge difference. Also, because my first birth ended in a c-section I was given the option of having a programmed c-section, which I felt made my life much easier. The birth went well and everything was straightforward.
During the pre-natal appointment for the nuchal scan, we were told that my baby had a high probability of having a genetic problem (possibly Down’s). The way we were told and how this happened was awful. This is such an important moment for any couple having a baby. It is a sensitive time and needs to be carried out properly. I really didn’t like the way the person told us this and Nick and I were terrified. It was such a shock that we were really upset because we weren’t expecting such news. Up to that point everything had been going really well so it was a real surprise.
We were offered the option of having a CVS test which we needed to make a decision about very quickly. It was hard to decide because the test can trigger a miscarriage so this made it very scary already. After thinking about it a lot we decided to proceed with the test. We just wanted to know what to expect. I did the test and was petrified the whole way through. I was praying for my baby to stay and to not experience a miscarriage. Thankfully all went well and I didn’t have a miscarriage and of course the best part was that the results were all good, showing no genetic problem. I’m not sure why we were told we had a problem in the first place. Everything was so scary. I must admit, I was very nervous and anxious for the rest of the pregnancy. I didn’t want to talk much about it because of fear that something might happen at any time or that perhaps she would be born with other issues.
We were taking care of very well following this. We had more appointments than expected and I felt that the doctors and midwives really cared about us all the time which was nice. Of course, everything went well the day of the surgery and Sienna was a beautiful and healthy baby.
2. Bella – Asthma Attack
Bella suffers from eczema and asthma. She is allergic to cats, pollen and dust in general. Sometimes this triggers her asthma, especially when she has a cold and she can have a lot of problems breathing. We have ended up at A&E a couple of times due to this but this time was the worst. She could hardly breathe at all and needed nebulisers to help her. She was that weak that she was hospitalised. My poor little girl was in such distress that she had to stay at in hospital for 5 days.
I must admit that despite being the worst experience ever, she was taken care of very well and I have no complaints at all. They were so focused and very experienced with children. She was very happy there too which I was surprised about. The hospital even had a room for children to play and read which Bella really liked. They also gave her a couple of books to take home. It was a very positive experience.
So those were our family experiences with the NHS. Despite a few incidents, overall we have had a positive experience.
How have your care experiences been? Have they been positive or negative? Have you had the need to start any negligence claim in the past? Please tell me your thoughts or experiences in the comments below.
*Disclosure: This is a collaborative post with Your Legal Friend.
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤️
Franca 💋
Linking up with:
Like you I have only been to hospital to give birth to m three children, the staff have always been warm, welcoming and friendly, the NHS has bad press but we are very lucky to receive free health care and when the recent terrorist attacks occurred the emergency services were there within minutes, and drs rushed back to work to help all of those poor patients, I’m glad your daughter is better now, my son suffered with asthma and it is worrying, he iis nearly 13 now and has outgrown it luckily xxx
I don’t live in the U.K I live in Australia and the only time I was admitted in a hospital was when I had my son almost 2 years ago. The hospital care I received in our local hospital exceed all my expectations I was at first worried because I heard and read a lot of negative review about the hospital. #KCACOLS
I have only great things to say about my C sections on the NHS. Fabulous but frazzled midwives and amazing doctors. We are very lucky to be able access the NHS at all. My dad was not so lucky at the end of his life but that is a story for another day. #Kcacols
I have only ever had a good experience in hospital. Like you, I have been very lucky. Pen x
Unfortunately we have had quite a negative experience: when my daughter was 4 she had Appendicitus. We were seen by our GP Xmas eve and brushed off as “an infection” (were given anti-biotics) Christmas day she got worse so we went to A&E and although she was still down as “an infection” she was admitted. Over the next 2 days we sat in hospital with poor Bethany getting worse and worse and no1 helping us. Eventually the more senior doctors came back after the Christmas break and she was rushed to surgery, seriously poorly and being given a 50:50 change of needing further surgery after. She healed up well and is now fine, she had some PTSD for a few years afterwards (as did the youngest who had 2 weeks without seeing Mummy or Daddy). I was told by solicitors we weren’t a sure enough case to be covered by the no win no fee deal. #kcacols
I’ve only really had positive experiences (overall). I do think we are so lucky to have the NHS. It isn’t perfect but its pretty awesome in an emergency #KCACOLS
My younger son has been to a hospital 200 miles away today for surgery. He has complex needs and the hospital were brilliant at working with us from a distance to ensure his needs were met. Very thankful to all the great staff at Bristol Children’s Hospital. #KCACOLS
I was in hospital twice, sometimes three times a week throughout each of my pregnancies and also to give birth three times! They’ve all been positive experiences!
#KCACOLS
I’m fortunate enough not to have spent too much time in hospital but the times that I have I couldn’t fault our NHS. With the births of both my children and the wonderful care and support I received when I suffered a miscarriage I feel very fortunate to be living in a country with such a strong healthcare system. #KCACOLS
Hope she’s feeling better. I work at a hospital here in the States and will admit that how good of care a person receives can sometimes vary depending on who is providing it. I’d like to think that most who come to us leave feeling pretty positive about the experience #KCACOLS
I’m the same as you and have only been admitted to hospital when I had my children. I have really fond memories of the care I received at my local hospital, couldn’t have asked for better!
#KCACOLS
Bella’s asthma attack must have been terrifying but I’m glad your experience with the NHS for that was good. Touch wood, I’ve only had a couple of hospital incidents and all have been good experiences but I can see how traumatic and the affects that bad experiences can have. Thanks for hosting #KCACOLS x
I’ve only been into hospital to give birth (twice) and both times I was happy with the care I was given. The unit was really busy both times, but I still felt well looked after. x #KCACOLS
I have had mostly good experiences whilst in hospital with the odd exception. My first birth wasn’t fantastic care by the midwives and they didn’t listen to me one bit! However, the aftercare was amazing and my second birth was great as I had a fantastic midwife. The NHS as a whole are fantastic but like any sector you get the odd person who lets the side down, but that doesn’t mean it’s all bad 🙂 #KCACOLS
I have mostly had a good treatment whilst I’ve been in hospital, the only downfall was the food, it was VILE
All my varied visit to my hospital have been handled with the utmost care and excellence
I have never stayed in hospital and have only been in for my 3 births and a broken foot. Recently Matthew had to be treated for a head wound but he was fine. I feel very fortunate to have the NHS #kcacols
I still think our health service is great but it does deliver patchy results depending on where you live. In my experience records and communication between staff and loved ones need vastly improving.
the anaesthetic didn’t work properly during my last c-section because the anaesthetist didn’t give me enough, I even heard the trainee ask him if I shouldn’t have a higher dose and he said no as my ‘frame’ didn’t warrant it. Well as soon as they made it through the outer layer of skin I felt everything and my previous scar was starting to rupture so there was no time to wait for more drugs to take effect. As soon as I had held my daughter in my arms for the briefest of minutes though I was knocked out while they patched me up. The next couple of days I was so drugged up on morphine I can’t really remember a lot but I do know it was a student doctor who came to tell me that given the rupture I shouldn’t have any more children, not one visit from the consultant or the anaesthetist who had screwed up. That being said, I couldn’t fault the rest of the treatment and given the current state of the NHS and the monetary pressure they are under I would never consider suing. He made a mistake, and judging by the look on his face at the time, I don’t think he’ll make it again. I do think he should have come to see me and explain what went wrong, perhaps even apologise, but I know that in today’s world he was probably told he couldn’t as that would be seen as an admission of guilt and leave them open to being sued. My baby arrived safe and well and I have long since recovered and that’s all that matters to me. Plus I have a story to horrify and then bore the grandkids with when I’m older
#KCACOLS
Like yourself I’ve never been admitted in to hospital apart for the birth of my son and now my next visit will hopefully be in September for the birth of my daughter. I plan on having my daughter in the same hospital as her brother as I was more than happy with the care I received, although to be honest I was in hospital at 4am had him by 9:44am and was back home at 6pm. I’m hoping the second time round will be just as smooth and quick fingers crossed! x #KCACOLS
I had good treatment in hospital with the birth of my 2 daughters I was under a specialist for the whole of both durations . This was over 30 years ago and they made me feel so special. Luckily my daughter didn’t have a good time with my little grandson Henry . She had to push for over 4 hours and then they had to cut her to get him out she ended up having a blood transfusion . She won’t have any more it put her off so I just have this little one to spoil. Lol . I’ve had anaesthetic for just one operation where I had varicose veins removed which wasn’t much fun I ended up with very low blood pressure which took me a good few weeks to recover from. I don’t do very well with anaesthesia. Apart from that I was looked after . My worse one at the moment will be going to the dentist which I need to do but dreading it so I’ll say aaaagggghhh to that !!! Lol.
I live in Canada and my experiences have always been good, except the long wait times in the ER department, So much funding has been cut but we are still very lucky!
#KCACOLS
Tori
http://www.themamanurse.com
Oh my goodness I can not imagine how you felt going through those tests worrying about miscarriage. How awful. My eldests has ecezma and similar allergies. The youngest has asthma he’s only 14 months so we are just starting to learn all about it. Thanks for hosting #KCACOLS
I worked and trained in the NHS for 11 years so I try to be as patient and understanding as possible. Overall my experience has been wonderful and despite a few interactions with people that don’t communicate the way I’d wish, I’ve never experienced anything I’d consider as negligence towards myself , hubs or George. I value and appreciate our free health service everyday and wish more people didn’t take it for granted.
Interesting to read your stories.
#KCACOLS
I didn’t know you worked and trained in the NHS for 11 years! What an interesting fact about you! They are great! Thank you lovely! 🙂 x
awww hope she’s better soon, I’ve only been in hospital a few times but more recently my nanna has and her care in 1 hospital was very very poor they almost gave her wrong medication ( it’d have killed her ) but other hospital she had fantastic care! NHS really is a postcode lottery to care you get!