Dear Editor,
A few weeks ago I had the ‘pleasure’ of spending five days in Kitimat General Hospital following surgery.
You hear so many opinions about our facility, so here are a few of mine and mine only. First, I had absolutely super physicians and nursing staff caring for me and putting up with my whining. I’m sure it was all the medication that made me whiny!
Those of you that know me are saying ‘Yeah right”! This is not somewhere you go to sleep!
My roommate and I shared the ward – we kept the curtain closed between us, and yes it was a man in the next bed.
We kept each other awake most nights saying things like is that your monitor beeping or mine, or is that your IV pump beeping or mine?
When he left the day before me, I said: “that’s the last sleepover I’ll have with you” – and he agreed!
To me, the admission process is a waste of nursing time – at least 10 pages of questions that must have been dreamt up by lawyers. Nurses’ time could be better spent doing nursing things, which they are trained for.
A couple of examples of the questions: Do you ever have feelings of aggression? My answer is well that depends on who P’s me off!
Another was do you want salt or pepper with your meals? Well this one sort of reminds me of being on a cruise ship and ordering room service – lift the lid on your tray and surprise!
This wasn’t really a problem, but interesting nevertheless.
There were at least 10 more pages of what I thought were silly questions and had not much to do with why I was there.
During the day we had some nursing students and their instructors caring for some of us – I can hardly believe I was that young when I went into training!
The student I had was super and hopefully will not change her attitude when she receives her RN status.
The night shift has so many challenges to deal with – from us who are post-op, to those with other medical problems, many long-term patients who should be in a completely different facility, and dealing with not so nice problems in the emergency dept.
Then to add to this a staff member calls in to say they are not coming to work for some reason.
That takes someone having to give up their nursing time to try to find a replacement, and if nobody is available they are left coping with maybe only two staff members to care for all the patients.
I think a good lesson would be for an administrator, someone from Northern Health or someone from the Kitimat Advocacy group, to spend a few nights seeing what really goes on and how hard the staff work.
There was never a complaint from the staff that we heard and they were always cheerful despite the stress.
All the degrees in the world don’t necessarily make you a better nurse (yes, you have the book knowledge) but you also need the actual bedside caring attitude.
My one little complaint is when you are connected to IV’s, monitors, drains and other tubes here and there and your meal comes, it would be great if someone could come and help you reach your tray and set you up so you could try to eat.
I know the problems when you have patients who have to be fed and bells keep ringing, people complaining because they have to wait a bit. However, it would be nice if someone, maybe someone from some of these committees or even a family member, would pop down to give a hand.
Anyway, all-in-all my stay was interesting, at least the bits that I remember with all the medications dripping into me.
When you start hating your meals and no one can bring you something from outside and you can’t sleep, it’s time to go home!
I walked in their shoes for 37 years so I know it’s a difficult job to keep everyone happy when they feel scared, sick and just want to be back home.
I went there to have a problem solved and with the good care I received, I think that was accomplished.
Sincerely, Roma Burnett
Keep smiling, I’m watching and listening.
