Has a anyone ever complained about nhs nursing treatment

Well I'm sorry this has happened to you but in over 30 years of nursing I have only ever seen compassion, expertise and hard work in all the nursing and medical staff I have had the pleasure to work with.

I've had a lot of surgery and chemo treatment over the years. There was one unpleasant nurse in all of my treatment, but other than that, all of them were excellent. Worked half to death, rushed off their feet, yes, but good care.

I've complained about a doctor but never had poor treatment from a nurse, although I've certainly witnessed a patient attacking a nurse on the stroke ward.

gagajo you’ve restored my belief in good people

Elizabeth1 sent you a PM

teetime my familyincluding myself are entrenched in nursing and care I’ve experienced greatness in them we need to weed out the baddies no one deserves a bad apple

Elizabeth1 have sent PM

I am so sorry you had a bad experience. In 30 years I met 100's of nurses that were professional, caring, and truly gave all they had for the patient. The profession attracts people with an inate caretaking personality. They work long, hard hours, deal with abusive families or patients occasionally, do tasks a hardy sailor would find distasteful, give up family time if a patient "goes bad" and it is time for the shift to end, eases the transition from life to death if only by holding a hand, and feels a personal sadness that may last weeks for a patient beyond relief or cure. Defensive, yes. Please don't malign the few bad, with the good. Believe me, their peers will make sure their employment is short.

well, i'm sorry but i have seen close up and experienced some very poor nursing over several years.
obviously it is a minority, but still too many.
i think maybe in the past it attracted more high-minded people. and still does now. but, there are also some who have entered it to get a qualification, and can be quite bossy, or careless, lazy, lacking empathy or real interest in patients.
i cannot detail examples now here as i find the recollections too distressing.
even as a child i can remember some real tartars who made children's lives a misery, so it is not just recent. i still have nightmares from that time. oppressive regimes are found everywhere, and attract oppressors.
i could mention some very good, careful and humane nurses, but that is not what was asked about here.

My DH spent almost 3 months in hospital during October, November and December 2019 . Most of this time was spent on an IC unit where the care was second to none, with the exception of one highly qualified nurse who I dreaded seeing approach his bay and of whom he later had some awful flashbacks . She had a habit of referring to him as a “naughty boy” and had a very passive aggressive nature . I fail to imagine what she was like when I was not there.

When he was transferred from ICU onto a ward I can honestly say I witnessed some of the worst “nursing” care and I was glad to get him home where I could look after him myself properly.

Miscommunication between staff seemed to be almost the norm with no one taking responsibility for mistakes . Nasty attitudes to the patients (as though they were being greatly inconvenienced by the patients needs), lack of very basic care such as changing beds, clothes/underwear, clearing up mess, feeding etc. I think he might have starved to death if I hadn’t taken food in for him and fed him myself.

I could go on......and seriously thought of lodging a formal complaint but decided just to get him out of there as soon as possible .

He has been back in hospital twice since then and both times I have insisted on a different hospital .

Saw the best and the worst of nursing care when a close friend had a brain bleed last year and will be forever thankful that her daughter could be with her every day to ensure her wellbeing. Some difficulties were from resourcing, some from attitude. I’m delighted you’re recovering Elizabeth, in my view you’re right to highlight your experiences, your feedback may support change. I’m not sure where you are. If in England or Wales PALS could support you, in Scotland I think similar support is available from PASS. Wishing you well.

Teetime You must have either worked in the most amazing hospital in the world or you simply did not notice how uncaring and workshy some nurses are.
My Dh has spent a lot of time in hospital and some of the behaviour by a minority nurses we have seen have been shocking. I was once waiting for my DH to come out of Theatre, we had been told the operation would be 4 hours and he would be put on a certain ward, i sat outside the ward waiting, i was worried sick because my DH has suffered D.V.T in the past, after 5 hours i went in to ask if they knew how my DH was and would arrive on the ward, i stood beside the nurses station totally ignored by the all of the staff whilst they looked through a photograph album and talked and screeched with laughter about the nights out they had had together, all the while buzzers were being ignored. When i finally got their attention , i was told they had been waiting to discharge a patient before they brought my DH up to the ward and as that patient had just left, they would call theatre straight away, i asked them if the discharged patient had jumped from the balcony as nobody had left the ward in the last hour.They were the laziest bunch i have ever come across.
Not all Nurses are Angels

My H was in A&E with suspected appendicitis. He was in pain, given morphine and had to sit in the waiting room for 9 hours. After 5 hours when I asked the nurse when he would be dealt with his reply was that they had thirty people to see before him. I informed him that thirty people had already been in and out who arrived after him!! By the 8th hour he was coming to the end of the second dose of morphine we asked where the local vet was as felt that a dog would get better treatment. The consequence was that his appendix did erupt and was leaking whilst waiting and he ended up in hospital on medication before they removed it. He was in hospital for 2 weeks instead of a few days.

In contradiction to my original post I have also witnessed the most caring folks working very hard with little resources to support them I’ll always have a fond memory of the woman who gave me a hug in my time of need especially when she was half worked to death with the negative folks around her rushing her on to the next task. My angel gave me a moment of comfort and I’ll always be thankful to her

I recently made a formal complaint about a nurse technician who treated me appallingly. The Director of Nursing at the University Trust, sent me a detailed response on the steps which had been taken and would be taken in the future.

I also recently nominated two nurses for awards following my experience as an in-patient.

Both experiences were in the same hospital.

Yes, had to complain about the vile treatment of my elderly mother. I lost all my trust in the treatment she received and the hospital's response. There's no question that it was negligent and witnessed. I won't go into detail but I think that people receiving poor care need to report it.

A bit like KimLesleyThomas I absolutely blame the hospital for what happened to my DH . Left in A&E . A 6ft grown man crying in absolute agony, unable to sit down with the pain . He was not even triaged for 7 hours . Can’t blame lack of staff either just absolute bad management and no one making the most basic of decisions . What followed was anyone’s worst nightmare . Emergency operation where he acquired an HAI, Sepsis and Legionella resulting in 2 months in an induced coma and on a ventilator .

It’s such a shame isn’t it? There are obviously plenty of excellent nurses. I think there are people ( mainly young women ) who become nurses that really don’t have a caring bone in their body .

Just over 8 years ago I was hospitalised with a bleeding stomach ulcer.
The majority of the the nursing staff were absolutely brilliant - although one that gave me a bed bath in my first day on ward, made me feel more like I was a horse being given a rub down !
I had to have a blood transfusion - all was going well until the change of shift to night duty. One unit was up and nearly finished when to my horror, I heard my name yelled from the other end of the ward by not just one of the nurses, but the night sister, yelling out my name and saying why hadn't she been told I was having a transfusion and complaining that she was too short staffed to do it !
Thankfully, one of the agency nurses came and changed the unit and kept an eye on me for the rest of the night.
When one of the nurses on day shift asked me how I had slept, I mentioned it to her and she fetched the day sister who asked if I wanted to make a complaint. I said I did so she dealt with it - that same night sister was not seen for the rest of my stay.
One of the other patients who had been on the ward for several months said the same night sister was really lazy - she used to come round at the handover(briefly) and that was the last anyone saw her until morning - apparently she had been seen sleeping in one of the empty beds (with the curtains closed around it) and also used to "borrow" books and magazines from patients lockers and sit reading them in any corner she could find. Because of the design of the ward, if the rest of the staff couldn't find her, it was supposed that she was elsewhere on the ward or she used to appear, saying she had been called to another ward.
My complaint was the final straw - not so much because of her disappearing acts but because she had breached data protection by calling out my name !

Yes, a few times.
Particularly when my mum was in hospital, as well as times we could have complained but just couldn't find the energy.

There are excellent staff of course, and we all appreciate them I am sure.

But yes - I have had cause to make a complaint - I did not want to - I simply asked to be able to convey my concern to the right party, but was told this HAD to be done in the form of a formal complaint. It concerned the refusal of two doctors to listen when I said I could not bear weight on my foot - they said it was due to the fact that I had been in plaster. I said very clearly on several occasions that I had broken bones before and was absolutely certain this was an active fracture - they just "patted me on the head" and sent me on my way. Needless to say a second unhealed fracture was found and it was too late to resolve the problem because it was set wrong. As a consequence I now walk with a stick and have constant pain. All I wanted was to convey an "always listen to the patient because sometimes they know best!" message.

During my OH's stay in hospital last year with a fractured hip, his care was quite simply appalling - well, beyond appalling. The whole family was traumatised by it all. One of us had to be there all the time to make sure he was hydrated, clean, out of pain, treated respectfully. Perfectly dreadful.

Elizabeth1 I have had one bad experience in years of good, post surgery I was groggy and on a ward where there seemed to be some dispute going on between the nursing staff and management. Lots of neglect. I ended up with a small bed sore and the only time a nurse looked at my operation site was when they took the two large drains out prior to discharge. A registrar in the surgical team said to me, quietly, if I were you, I would go home before you catch something.

I bore it all stoically, didn’t formally complain and just put it down to the vagaries of life.

I was admitted once a few years ago after I sort of collapsed at home face down into my plate of food! (Jet lag after return from NZ) and extreme fatigue. Kept in overnight and had excellent care but I did have to check the student nurse when she was doing my insulin as she had put in double the amount. Good job I checked.

On the whole never had cause to complain.

Not personally (they wouldn't dare!!) but ~I did report a colleague and it was the most traumatic process in my whole career. I was eventually vindicated after a full investigation and the individual was actually removed from the register. Apparently people had grumbled about the person for years, but had done nothing.