I’ve had my fair share of hospital visits over the years. From giving birth – the first time via an emergency c-section and the second time around with a VBAC to numerous A&E trips for high temperatures, bumped heads, panic attacks and more.

I’ve been lucky to have had mainly positive experiences from our stay in local hospitals.

After my emergency c-section with E, I struggled to get out of bed. I couldn’t even do the simplest of things like change his nappy or have a wash. The nurses on the ward were amazing and were always on hand to help me. They showed me how to express colostrum while I was still waiting for my milk to come in and how to bath a newborn too.

Most recently, E has had a couple of hospital stays as he was suffering from awful tummy pains. It turns out he had a build up of gas and constipation. The doctors were brilliant at working through his symptoms. He had numerous ultrasounds to check it wasn’t his appendix causing problems. After his second stay, he was referred to a paediatric specialist for further advice on how best to manage his pain.

The lady we saw listened to all the things we were doing to prevent him from getting constipated and gave us some great advice too. Thankfully, by upping his fibre intake and making sure he is drinking enough water as well as taking Movicol, we seem to be managing his condition and he’s not suffered pain like that again. We’re due to have another checkup with the paediatric nurse in July. Now we know the signs and what to do, we’re able to catch any symptoms much earlier than we did before and can stop the pain from escalating into another hospital visit.

Unfortunately, some people have experienced a level of care that is not up to standard and as well as being frustrating it’s also hard to know how best to tackle any issues of care that you aren’t happy with. I believe the best thing, in the first instance, is to speak to those involved to make them aware and so they can aim to rectify the situation or can enlist someone else that can help.

No one wants to be a victim of medical negligence but it’s important to raise any issues if we feel we aren’t getting the right care.

*Collaborative post