How good is your general support from the hospital

[clair]

Hi, just wondering what kind of support you all get for children. I see there has been a bit of publicity about care for children being cut. I have never really given it much thought before but recently it seems to be getting harder to get help and advice from the hospital.
When we go for the 3 month checks all the staff are present ie, the consultant a diabetic nurse and sometimes a dietician, which is great but if I need to speak to someone over the phone there is never anyone available. I just have to leave a message and hope someone gets back to me or if it is urgent then you get put through to the childrens ward and just have to speak to whatever doctor is there at the time. I don't think the diabetic nurses are there all week, possibly only 2-3 days and certainly not at weekends and I have also noticed that the nurses change quite often. At one time you were farmiliar with the same nurse all of the time but now there seems to be a high turnover of nurses with people leaving.
We are in the North East. North Tyneside General.

 

[Caroline]

I can't speak for the diabetic care in my hospital because it has never been needed by my family, but they are moving all kinds of o ther services around at my hospital.

Our saga started just after Christmas when little feller complained he couldn't pee. It was a week before we could see our doctor and I wasn't propared to wait that long so we went to A&E with him. Wwe got seen by a trainee doctor who thought it was one thing (un undescended testical) so she called the specialist who thought it was something else, andhubby thought it was problems with the fore skin. Anyway we asked the specialist to check that and he said oh yes phimosis. They wrote a letter to our doctor asking him to write to the surgeon (nice bit of buck passing). We saw the surgeon at the hospital we had gone to for A&E who said yes little feller needs a circumcision, but it will be done at another hospital. The other hospital we need two buses to get to and if anything went wrong (like the stitches splitting before things had healed properly) we had to go back. On discharge after the operation we were given a sheet of paper with dos and don'ts and left to get on with it. We got no other support. Luckily we know plenty of other people who had had the op done, but we didn't have any medical back up....😡

 

[Northerner]

I can't comment on children's care, but my experience was pretty similar toy yours - DSNs terrific, consultant was so-so, DSNs very difficult to get hold of on the phone. Then they decided to cancel my appointment (got the letter a week after the appointment!), close the clinic, and I had to move to a new one which appears to be much better. At the old one my appts could be moved by months from their original date, so far the new one has kept to the original dates. So my care has improved after starting well, then going through a very poor patch, now a good one!

From what I have gathered from reading the experiences of parents and adults who were diagnosed as children, the transition from paediatric to adult care is often extremely important as in many cases young adults seem to get lost and go through a very difficult patch of rebellion and poor control and a steep drop in quality of care.

We need lots more DSNs, not fewer!!!!

 

[Hanmillmum]

Hi, my daughter's last OPA was at end of June, next one end of Oct ! Not exactly 3 monthly. DSN will get back to us if any queries but snookered if anything urgent, would just leave us with the ward where no one knows us. DSN is covered by an out of area nurse if on holiday.

 

[Tina63]

My son was diagnosed at the very end of December last year. In hospital 2 days, DSN came for 4 hours both days he was in and sat educating us (very impressed, especially as it was Xmas/New Year too), then first 2 days home got twice daily phone calls, home visit next day, phone call next 2 days, dietician home visit next day, continued daily phone calls a few more days, then another home visit by DSN, then twice a week phone calls. Clinic after 4 weeks, then 6 weeks after that and another 6 weeks, with home visits by DSN inbetween each period of clinic visits. Now on 3 monthly clinic visits, given the whole years' appointment dates right back in January, including the full MOT date in December.

Whole list of phone numbers provided, DSNs, dietician, and 24 hour 7 day a week numbers (which I have used on a Sunday and on New Year's Day just after midnight!) and both of those times got to speak directly to our consultant! Impressive. I have found odd times I have phoned our DSN I have had to leave a message but she does usually phone back the same day.

I just worry what will happen when we move over to adult services.......