Please refrain from passing out! (Salisbury District Hospital)

Member Name: Grimsbygal

Product:	Salisbury District Hospital
Date:	11/09/01 (222 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: quite clean, easy to find

Disadvantages: it's a hospital!

It all started last Wednesday night. I sat down comfortably to watch the England match and waited for my fiancé Simon to return from taking his mother to work. All of a sudden there was a bang on the door. At first I thought he must have forgotten his key but the bang got louder. I panicked as I imagined a team full of men breaking the door down armed with baseball caps. I heard Simon’s voice, asking me to answer. I opened it and saw him there grabbing his hand. I was quite confused at first, I didn’t know what he was doing as it was dark. He raced off and I closed the door behind and followed. I then realised there was blood dripping from his hand and when he said his finger was dropping off I believed him. I quickly turned the engine off in his car as two men appeared. They offered to rush us to our local hospital.

Once there I realised what had happened. He had gone to open the garage door to put the car away and one of the screws from the door fell out leaving a metal bar to drop like a guillotine on my fiancé's fingers. Fortunately his finger was still there although it was not looking too healthy. After inspecting his blooded fingers in more detail they decided a trip to Odstock General Hospital in Salisbury was inevitable. We managed to get our sister in law (thanks Karenwilson) to take us there and although Simon worried as more blood dripped through the strapping onto his nice new shirt, the journey was not too bad and it was very easy to find with signposts all the way.
Karen dropped us off as we rushed inside.

The Accident and Emergency department was quite empty with only a handful of people waiting to be seen. It took around half an hour for a triage nurse to even look at Simon and then a further half an hour for him to be seen by a doctor. I wouldn’t usually complain about this as it doesn’t sound to long but anyone could see he was clearly distressed and it was bleeding quite heavily.

The
Accident and Emergency department actually quite surprised me. I was expecting a much larger waiting room as it is a city. There was two toilets, a small play area with some dusty old toys and around twenty seats grouped together in a two circles. There was a drinks machine and also a bottle water dispenser which was out of order. I cannot complain about the variety of magazines as I spotted fishing, cricket, gardening, home improvement, music, and many other different types.

As for the treatment they gave Simon it was not too bad. First of all a nurse removed the strapping Andover had put on and tried to clean the wound up. After having nothing but spurts of blood she went to get the next available doctor. This didn’t take long and soon enough a doctor was using his skills to assess the situation.

Let me explain what his fingers looked like. If you get a bit squeamish I suggest it may be better if you skip this paragraph. The finger nail of his middle finger had gone completely and was left with lots of blood and what looked like tissue on the surface. As for his index finger, it was cut from just above the nail and looking from the side it appeared to be bent in the wrong place. To say there was lots of blood was an understatement. It is the type of injury that would make me feel strange thinking about it but as it was my fiancé I felt I had to be brave for him and watched it closely as I covered his eyes.

It was obvious an x-ray would be the next stage. It showed compound fractures in two places and revealed what we had been dreading. He needed to go into theatre for plastic surgery and there was a risk he could lose both finger tips. This scared him stiff but the plastic surgeon was very professional about it and explained what they had to look at.

He had to be admitted and ended up going into theatre on Thursday morning. He was eventually allowed out on Friday afternoon after been monitored for 24hours after the ana
esthetic.

The nurses did seem quite friendly although they were understaffed and had to bring in other trained nurses from other departments. This wouldn’t have caused a problem apart from the fact we had a lot of questions to ask and the nurse on duty didn’t understand what had happened to him.

The hospital itself was quite modern and the main entrance reminded me of a hotel lobby with a stone floor and a staircase. There was a small shop open for most of the day selling things like magazines, sweets, snacks and even some toiletries. It also sold cards, grapes and flowers which was helpful as I didn’t have time to go shopping before hand.

There was a canteen although I chose to opt for a sausage roll from the shop as Simon’s food didn’t look too appetising. As he was only in for two nights he had to make do with what the previous patient had ordered, which consisted of a main course of a plate of baked beans and a tuna and cucumber sandwich. Needless to say he didn’t eat too much whilst he was there.

The wards seemed quite clean and they were quite strict with not allowing visitors sit on the beds.

This hospital is quite well know for plastic surgery and performs miracles with severed limbs and also with burns. Although we haven’t seen his fingers since the operation and we have heard there are a few pins and wires intact, we are keeping our hopes up they will not remain too disfigured. In my mind anything will be better than the sight of blood dripping from the wound and me wanting to pass out.

As for parking there did seem to be plenty of spaces although as I don’t drive I learnt more about the local bus service. It is not too far from the city centre and the bus stop is directly outside the main entrance.

One thing I didn’t like about this hospital is the lack of information you find out. Often we overheard nurses and doctors talking about
Simon’s condition but not actually telling him. This felt quite intimidating and also felt as if they were keeping the worst from us.

Simon will be going back in to have his pins removed and also has to return for intensive physiotherapy for some time to come. In the mean time I will be hoping we don’t have to go back to the Accident and Emergency unit for a whilst.

I would like to dedicate this opinion to Karenwilson as a thank you for everything. I think you spent long enough in A&E trying to avoid the sight of his hand. Perhaps you should write an opinion about it as well. :-)

I hope none of you think I am trying to cash in on my fiancé's misfortune. All proceeds will go towards his Christmas present!

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