Side Room 1, Ward 24 (Part 1)

Before I managed to get to sleep on the previous evening, my sudden change of hospital ward was explained to me. Apparently, the number of people requiring Accident & Emergency care has increased dramatically that evening, with the result that ambulances were stacking up at the entrance to the A&E Department. As the hospital ward I was in - Ward 22 - was part of the urgent care section of the hospital, I was ‘bumped’ out to a non-urgent care ward so that my bed space could be given to someone who was in the CDU (Clinical Decision Unit). This, in turn, meant that someone in A&E could be moved to the CDU. It appears that this had been planned to take place earlier in the day but that the bed space in Ward 24 wasn’t vacated until late in the evening.

I must admit that I was not happy about the sudden change of hospital ward, but at least I wasn’t the poor soul who was discharged from hospital late on what was a very cold April night!

I slept from 1.00am until 6.00pm with a single short break at about 4.00pm. My day started with the obligatory blood pressure, oxygen level, and temperature check, after which I was left alone until 6.30am. I was then informed that my bed bath would be delayed until later in the day as the ward was understaffed.

I had breakfast at 8.00am, followed by my daily medication. It was then a case of waiting to see what would happen, I finished reading 1864 and moved on to a collection of shorts stories that featured the French detective, Maigret. I had my bed bath and change of bedclothes just after 10.15am, and then waited - increasingly impatiently - for news of the hoist. By 11.00am Sue had been advised by the hospital not to go out as the contractor might deliver the hoist without any prior notice. This was extremely inconvenient for her but she did as requested.

I saw the consultant on duty in Ward 24 at 11.30am, and he confirmed that I’d be going home as soon as the hoist was delivered. He also prescribed statins to reduce my cholesterol and explained that they were in the process of scheduling some neurological tests on my left leg that will take place at King’s College Hospital.

Lunch was served at 12,30pm, and after checking in with Sue as to whether or not she had heard any news about the hoist being delivered (she hadn’t), I settled down to read some Maigret stories and to do one of the crosswords in the free newspaper that had been handed out to patients before lunch.

After lunch I read and dozed until 3.15pm when two porters arrived to take me down to the Fracture Clinic. I joined the queue there … and was then sent to the X-Ray Department so that the clinic had images that would help them decide what to do with my cast. The X-ray showed that the break needed a small amount of manipulation, and as a result the old cast was taken off, the break was gently realigned, and a new red cast put on.

I was then sent back to have the whole thing X-rayed again to make sure that everything was alright. This took almost three hours in total and I arrived back in Ward 24 just as dinner was being served at 6.30pm.

Because it was so late, I FaceTimed Sue and listened to her recount her conversations with the Occupational Therapist. The latter had now ordered two hoists, one order being marked as ‘Urgent’ … but the contractor hadn’t even acknowledged the orders and had not answered any of the emails they’d been sent. This meant that I’m was unlikely to be discharged before Monday evening … and that it may even be later that week!

After such a relatively stressful day, I felt very tired and spent the evening resting, reading, and watching TV programmes and YouTube videos on my iPad.

I slept from midnight to 3.00am and again from 4.00am to 6.00am when my blood pressure, oxygen level, and temperature were taken. I then dozen on and off until 8.00am when it was time to order breakfast. Whilst breakfast was being served, I was given my daily medications and checked up on my emails. It was then time for my bed bath and change of bedclothes, after which my seventeenth day in hospital began to unfold.

I spent until lunchtime reading some more of George Simenon’s Maigret short stories, writing up my blog, reading their people’s blogs, and watching YouTube videos. I also managed to have a short chat with the Nepali nursing sister who is charge of the ward.

Lunch was served at 12.30pm, after which I spent some time reading and dozing until Sue arrived at 4.15pm. We had a long chat about the hoist situation, and Sue informed me that the care plan was due to come into effect on Monday evening in the expectation that the hoist will be delivered by then and I would have been discharged from hospital. We shared a coffee and a sausage roll during her visit, which lasted about ninety minutes. She sent me a WhatsApp message when she got home to tell me that she’d got back safely and that the hospital car park charges had gone up by 10% from £1.50 to £1.65 per hour!

Dinner was served at 6,15pm, and after I’d taken my evening medications, I settled down to write up my blog, read a number of other blogs, and watch some TV programmes and YouTube videos on my iPad. This kept me occupied for most of the evening, and I was ready to go to sleep not long after 11.30pm.